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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Mr Sandman Dusting Powder from Lush

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Mr Sandman Dusting Powder is yet another brand new Twilight scented product that has been welcomed with open arms by the Lush community.

I am a little disappointed that it appears to have replaced my all time favourite festive dusting powder, First Snow. I am however always more than happy to try a new Lush product and even more so when it is Twilight scented!

If you have read any of my previous reviews on the other various Twilight scented products, you’d know that the Twilight bath bomb was the very first bath bomb that I tried from Lush. I of course became bath bomb bonkers on first use and just under four years later, here I still am raving about it.

When I first got into Lush I had no idea that their products even had scent families. I just thought that the Twilight bath bomb was lavender scented. I had no idea of the complexity of ingredients chosen to go into each and every single product that Lush have on offer.

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Mr Sandman’s scent family happens to be one of the biggest sellers for Lush. This is reflected in the huge amount of Twilight scented products that they have created.

This year in particular, Lush have well and truly spoilt the Twilight fans with lots of new, never before released items. We have had the Twilight Shower Jelly in the Lush Kitchen and right now the Twilight and Luxury Lush Pud bath bombs are available to purchase as are the Sleepy body lotion and the Mr Sandman dusting powder. They have even re-released the much loved Twilight shower gel for the festive period in their flagship store in London, Oxford Street.

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I’d say that the majority of newbie Lushies do not have any idea on the amount of products they actually do. When you say ‘Lush Cosmetics,’ the first thing that people say is ‘Oh the bath bomb shop?’ Once you’re hooked on the bath bombs that’s when you begin to explore what other products they have.

Mr Sandman is a dusting powder and is used in the same way as a talcum powder, it is applied all over the body after washing and/or moisturising or for a quick refresh in between.

Its purpose is to absorb your skin’s excess oils while also adding an extra layer of fragrance to your skin. After applying Mr Sandman my skin is not only fragranced with the Twilight scent but is also smooth to the touch. It makes your skin feel silky soft and works wonders in areas of your body that are prone to sometimes get excessively sweaty such as under your boobs. Although it’s not an antiperspirant it does help keep sweat away for a little longer than when you go without.

Some people may be put off by Mr Sandman as it does have a small amount of lustre in. Back when I first got in to Lush I was a lustre sceptic I however now know that it’s really nothing to worry about. It’s the same type of shimmer that you’d find in make up such as a highlighter or bronzer. It adds a slight gleam to your skin and I honestly don’t even notice if a product has it in or not anymore, either way it doesn’t bother me.

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Pairing Mr Sandman up with Lush’s other new Twilight scented product Sleepy Body Lotion is a force to be reckoned with, this simple Lush cocktail aids restful sleep that makes Maleficent’s sleeping curse look weak.

The carefully selected ingredients that lull you into a relaxed state of mind, which in turn aids restful sleep are lavender, chamomile, tonka absolute and ylang ylang. Although I can’t give Mr Sandman or Sleepy all of the credit, every time I have used them both together, I have been able to drop off to sleep much quicker and easier, which is a huge deal for me considering that I had previously struggled to fall asleep full stop.

Over all I am very impressed with the Mr Sandman dusting powder, I was a little shocked at its high price however now I have used it I know it is worth every penny.

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Sleepy Body Lotion from Lush

When I very first heard the news that Lush Cosmetics were bringing out a body lotion called Sleepy I couldn’t help but stand to attention.

As an ex insomniac, (yes I am one of the lucky ones who has been cured ~ for now anyway!) I still always feel the need to buy and test out every product that could potentially help me sleep. My worst nightmare (no pun intended) would be if my insomnia came back. This fear is what subconsciously drives me to always make sure I have a back up, get-me-to-sleep plan to turn to in the early hours of the morning should I find myself unable to fall asleep.

The fear of not being able to sleep is always at the back of my mind. I don’t think I will ever be free of the fear completely but having non medicinal products that are more than likely able to help me sleep, makes me feel a lot better about it all. sleepy-body-lotion I feel as if I should explain my fear around sleep a little bit more because it’s not a very normal thing to worry about, if you don’t sleep, you don’t sleep. You’ll manage it for one day and because you haven’t slept last night you’ll sleep like a baby tonight, right? Wrong!

Insomnia doesn’t work like that. Insomnia over a period of 10 years has done my body a lot of damage. Sleep is so very important. My lack of sleep is just one ingredient of the catalyst that caused me to get Fibromyalgia. Other things added to it too but since getting on top of my insomnia the Fibromyalgia has been a hell of a lot easier to deal with.

I never, ever want to go back to being my worst because of not being able to sleep… Enter the most fantastic body lotion to ever be in my possession, Sleepy Body Lotion! sbl My need for the Sleepy Body Lotion increased even more when I learnt that it was Twilight scented.

Twilight and I are a match made in Lush heaven. Twilight was my first Lush bath bomb and its scent is what got me hooked on Lush, any new products sharing its scent gets me very, very excited!

The Lush gods had listened to me and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a pot or three. Sleepy Body Lotion 3.png As soon as you pop open the lid of Sleepy body lotion you are greeted with the comforting and dreamy Twilight scent. I was expecting this body lotion to be white like Dream Cream it is however a very light shade of purple.

A little bit of the Sleepy body lotion goes a long way, ever since getting a pot I have been using it on my arms and legs of a night time. Have I been falling asleep quicker? Yes I have.

I really do feel that Sleepy body lotion has improved my bedtime routine and from first use too.

The lavender and tonka-absolute in it are perfect at helping you wind down after a long, hard day. Once applied the scent itself stays with you through out the night and most of the next day as well. You also get soft, smooth and gloriously hydrated skin which is of course an added bonus as well as all you need in a body lotion.

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Paired with a Twilight bath bomb and Mr Sandman dusting powder powder the Sleepy body lotion is a force to be reckoned with.

I love how there are so many Twilight scented products out this winter. A few of my other favourite Twilight-scented products are the Luxury Lush Pud bath bomb, Twilight shower gel and most of all the fairly new Twilight shower jelly!

I hope they decide to keep Sleepy body lotion as a permanent product as I really do not know how I ever lived without it. It’s amazing, you’ve just got to try it.

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Sleepy Head Massage Bar from Lush

Sleepy Head Massage Bar.png The Sleepy Head Massage Bar is unlike any other that I have had the pleasure of using before. Whenever it is a part of the Lush Kitchen menu I always jump at the chance to get hold of some.

When my very first Sleepy Head Massage Bar arrived I was amazed by how big it was. It’s called a massage bar but looking at it and feeling its weight in my hand makes me think that the term massage ‘brick’ would be a better and more fitting description.

As a diagnosed insomniac anything with the word ‘sleep’ in it catches my eye. Although (thanks to the help of my doctors) my sleeping abilities have improved somewhat, the whole getting enough sleep issue still sits at the back of my mind niggling away. I am very conscious that sleep is an essential part of life and that it is also the key to staying healthy. I used to go days and days without sleep, I don’t even know how I managed to get to work and then how I managed to last the day, week, month. You just do. No sleep however has a knock on effect and it is one that catches up on you all too late.

For people like me, sleeping isn’t a talent we have. Introducing essential oils and Lush Cosmetics into my daily routine has however been a game changer. I’m a huge fan of lavender oil simply because of its soothing properties. It is an extremely versatile essential oil and is useful for a number of things. Being both soothing and antiseptic it is marvellous for skin complaints such as sunburn and insect bites. It is also not just soothing for your skin, lavender is also my go-to-night-time essential oil because it helps clear and calm your body of negativities and stresses, slowly helping you to ease into the right frame of mind for a restful and good nights sleep.

The Sleepy Head Massage Bar lathers up very quickly, with its generous amount of cocoa and shea butter it makes for a real treat for thirsty, weather abused skin.

Its gentle lavender and ylang ylang scent stays with you hours after you have massaged it into your skin. Although as an insomniac I am not the best person to ask whether it made a difference to my sleep pattern, I do know that it helped me drop off to sleep quicker than I would have if I hadn’t have used it at all. It pairs perfectly with the Lush Spa temple balm.

The lavender in it is useful in both winter and summer therefore making it a perfect massage bar no matter what time of the year it is!

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Tweet Bubble Bar from Lush

I managed to get hold of this Oxford Street 2016 Easter exclusive thanks to my sis-in-law who is literally my Lush lifeline, she’s an amazing personal shopper to have, you should all be very, very jealous. Sending her on all of my Oxford Street errands has accidentally got her hooked on Lush Cosmetics too, whoops! I can’t take full credit though as lets face it, every single product in Lush sells itself, going into the shop, picking things up to sniff, touch and learn more about it is all part of the wonderful and very addictive Lush experience.

This Easter (2016), Lush Oxford Street have a brand new, slightly odd looking yet perfectly charming store exclusive, the Tweet Bubble Bar.

All Lush products are handmade, it is however not until a product like the Tweet bubble bar is released that you get to really appreciate this. Although each Tweet bubble bar weighs the same, (meaning you get the same amount of product in each) no two look quite the same. For someone like me who has an overactive imagination this personal and individual touch gives each Tweet chick its very own personality. Although the lack of consistency look-wise will bother some, I feel it’s all part of Lush’s charm.

Tweet bubble bar like quite a few of the recent Lush releases is another citrus scented product. It is very similar to the Sunflower bubble Bar that was also an Oxford Street exclusive earlier this year.

Packed with plenty of tangerine oil, Tweet is a bubble bar that will refresh and lift your mood whatever the weather. Within aromatherapy tangerine oil is used to relieve stress and is also said to help with insomnia. As an ex(ish) insomniac I can honestly say that since using Lush products before bed I have noticed such a positive difference in my sleep pattern. Although I am not completely cured I now find it so much easier to drift off to sleep, getting that extra few hours of sleep in comparison to none at all is a god send.

I broke my first Tweet bubble bar into two. This amount made copious amount of soft, citrus-sweet bubbles. In hindsight I wish I would have spread the Tweet bar over 3 baths as it is more than capable of doing so.

Spread out over 2 baths Tweet more than adequately met my bathing needs. The only negative thought I have of it is that I just always get a little frustrated when a really good bubble bar isn’t the same size as for example the, The Comforter bubble bar. I’m just a greedy guts like that… This point is of course more of a reflection on me than Tweet!

My skin, dry and feeling a little more sensitive than normal due to the increase in amount of hydro sessions I have had to put my body through felt instantly soothed.

I spent a little bit longer in this Tweet bath than I would normally do, I was just so very relaxed.

Several hours after getting out of a Tweet bath my skin is still beautifully hydrated and the scent of the Tweet bubble bar is still very prominent on my skin. I wish I had a few more of these in my personal Lush stash as they really are such a good Lush product.

I hope they come back for Easter 2017!

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