Lush Oxford Street – Lush Upon A Time

The Big Sleep Jelly Bomb from Lush

The Big Sleep Jelly Bomb

Anything with ‘sleep’ in its name always gets my attention. Apart from taking Lush baths my next favourite hobby is most definitely sleeping, I am however not very good at it so anything that could help me improve my ability to sleep is always very welcome. The Big Sleep Jelly Bomb is neck and neck favourite for me with the Dark Arts jelly bomb. I honestly didn’t think I would like any of the new jelly bombs at all but here I am ranting and raving about yet another.

The Lush Jelly Bombs look just like an ordinary Lush bath bomb they however have a magic ingredient, sodium alginate. This ingredient is what divides the normal bath bombs to the jelly ones. Jelly bombs are meant to work in exactly the same way as the normal bath bombs, the difference between a jelly bomb and a bath bomb is, instead of just exploding with colour jelly bombs produce a foam-like-jelly that floats on the surface of the water instead.

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Containing lavender, tonka, neroli and chamomile the Big Sleep is the next best thing to a sleeping potion, there is no better combination of ingredients to help you wind down and relax. Although this is quite a powerful blend of essential oils Big Sleep’s scent isn’t at all overpowering, it’s a delicate and soothing mix. Its scent as a whole reminds me of several different Lush products such as the Unicorn Horn bubble bar, Twilight and Golden Slumbers bath bomb.

Instantly after coming into contact with the water The Big Sleep begins to bob around, spreading blue foam across its surface. I noticed that unlike the Dark Arts jelly bomb, the Big Sleep took a lot longer to create its jelly layer.

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Once the layer of silky smooth jelly forms on the baths surface you start to really feel the benefits of it. My skin had never felt so well nourished before, the effect the seaweed based sodium alginate ingredient has on your skin is like nothing I have experienced while using Lush before. You heard it here first, the jelly bombs are going to change your life. Even the next day my skin feels soft, smooth and fabulous.

Big Sleeps scent once in the bath doesn’t intensify at all making it a good product to use if you’re sensitive to some of Lush’s more powerful scents.

After about 10 minutes the jelly dissolves into just bath water leaving you with a deep blue lagoon of silky smooth water. It’s hard to describe, I don’t want to mislead you by saying it ‘thickens the water’ as if someone said that to me I’d assume that the jelly and water had began to set. This isn’t the case at all. The dissolved jelly simply just adds a softness to the water and not in an oily way either, it’s so pleasant on the skin.

Overall I am really impressed with this jelly bomb. The Big Sleep was in fact the first of the 4 jelly bombs that I reordered, what I thought was going to be a group of novelty products have really opened my eyes. If you want an easy way to add hydration to your skin while not getting oily then the jelly bombs are perfect for you.

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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 ♥

Sunflower Bubble Bar from Lush

Sunflower Bubble Bar WM

The first thing that I noticed about the Sunflower Bubble Bar was its sheer size. It’s a whale of a bubble bar and to this day I think it is still one of the biggest Lush products I’ve ever owned. When I found myself in front of the huge pile of them in Oxford Street I couldn’t help but ‘oooooo!’. Back in the Mother’s Day period of 2016, the Sunflower bubble bar was a product that was exclusive to Lush’s flagship store. It did feature in some gift sets but it was only available to purchase on its own at Oxford Street.

Back then this bubble bar was one of the most sought after and popular cosmetic products on the market, I was lost for words when it didn’t make a return for Mother’s Day 2017.

A lot of 2016’s Mother’s Day products had a citrus element to them of some sort. I can only assume that this was a conscious decision on Lush’s part to add a bit of happiness and zing to our Spring. Although I quite like the idea of a variety of different scents, citrus scents are one of my favourites so I didn’t complain, the more citrus products to get me through the week the better!

When I first see the Sunflower bubble bar on Instagram I assumed it would be a floral or grassy scented product, I couldn’t have been more wrong. The bubble bar’s scent is lemon through and through, it’s a beautiful scent, just zesty enough to help refresh and revive your mind, body and soul without blowing your head off.

Lush have perfectly captured a real life sun flower within this bubble bar. Its warm yellow and orange tones alongside the light decoration of scattered sunflower petals reflects upon summer so adequately that it takes your mind straight to a day of sunshine, clear blue skies and bird song.

A little of this product also goes a very long way when making bubbles with the Sun Flower bubble bar. At first I thought maybe its larger size compromised for its ability to supply you with good quality bubbles but I was wrong.

Yet again Lush have made a product that is not only the best of quality but also of great value. For one product this bubble bar might appear to be a little pricey but considering you can get 6 plus generously bubbled and highly scented bubble baths out of it, it really is a perfect product in every which way possible.

Going back to what I said earlier about the Sun Flower bubble bar not coming back for Mother’s Day 2017. Even though this year’s Mother’s Day range has now been and gone I am still in complete disbelief about Sun Flower not being a part of the range this year. In my original review of it back in 2016 I said that I wanted it to stay as a permanent product, I still stand by this statement as it’s quite simply too good a product to not have on tap.

Luckily, the Lush Kitchen are making a small batch of them on the 18th of this month, this is what has prompted me to update my review on it, TAA DA! – I hope that Lush decide to bring it back as at least an Oxford Street exclusive at some point as the Sunflower bubble bar really is one of Lush’s best products to date.

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This post was originally posted on this website on the 3rd of March 2016. 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 ♥

Flutterby Bubble Bar from Lush

flutterby-tagged The Flutterby Bubble Bar was a Mother’s Day, Oxford Street exclusive back in 2016. I will apologise now for the lateness of this review, I honestly thought I had reviewed it, I tried to link it to another review a couple of weeks ago and that’s when I realised that I hadn’t actually done it, whoops!

Flutterby is a hot pink and white bubble bar decorated with a butterfly on its top. Colour wise it could easily be confused for the, The Comforter bubble bar. Lush products are always sorted into scent families and the Flutterby bubble bar is a part of the Yummy, Yummy, Yummy family.

The Yummy, Yummy, Yummy scent features in a variety of some of the most popular Lush products. The Roller bath bomb, Yummy Mummy shower cream and Peeping Santa bubbleroon to name a few.

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What first impressed me about the Flutterby bubble bar was its size. I had no idea that it would be so big and bulky. It certainly wouldn’t be lost if placed alongside the extra large bubble bars such as Brightside.

I was and still am also very impressed with its scent. Back when I first got it I couldn’t get enough of its creamy, sweet and strawberry-esque fragrance. As a rule, I always try to use Lush products as fresh as possible as the fresher a product is, the better it performs.

I really, really liked the Flutterby bubble bar and I stocked up on it before Mother’s day 2016 was over. I haven’t seen anything official that says it is coming back this year which I am really disappointed about, luckily I still have a few left and even over a year later they all still smell and work as if they were brand new. WINNING!

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Crumbling Flutterby under a running tap produces mounds and mounds of soft and fluffy white bubbles, underneath those bubbles Flutterby also turns your bath water the most gorgeous shade of pink. As soon as you get in the bath your skin begins to soak up all of the benefits this bubble bar offers.

Jam packed with tonka, geranium and Brazilian orange oil Flutterby comforts, softens and tones your skin while also soothing tired or aching muscles. You can easily get 4 or 5 generously bubbled baths out of just the one Flutterby bubble bar.

This bubble bar has a very versatile scent making it perfect for bath cocktails, it works especially well with the citrus and floral products. I hope Flutterby comes out in the Lush Kitchen this year as it’s such a beautiful product that I would really like to stock up on once again.

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Golden Slumbers Bath Bomb from Lush

The Golden Slumbers Bath Bomb is an Oxford Street exclusive making it almost impossible to get hold of unless you visit or live in London, UK.

It is however currently available on the Lush UK website, under the Lush Kitchen tab. I’m not sure if it will be available this way permanently but for the foreseeable future they have said that it is… I’m ridiculously happy by this as this means that everyone, everywhere can try it now.

My first Golden Slumbers was from the Lush Oxford Street store back when it first opened its doors in 2015.

I particularly like the Golden Slumbers scent as it really does smell of fresh, in the wild lavender. Its scent is one of the most relaxing fragrances Lush have to offer, it is packed with not only lavender oil but chamomile and neroli oil too.

golden-slumbers-bath-bomb Its ingredients calms the most restless of minds, lulling everyone who uses it into a peaceful more relaxed frame of mind, setting the foundations for a restful nights sleep. Which lets face it, is the best thing ever. After bathing, sleeping is probably my next favourite hobby, I’m not boring I promise. I’m just an ex-insomniac that never takes a single second of sleep for granted! 😉

When I was little we had lavender in our front garden, every morning before school my nan would always pick the smallest amount and rub it in her hands ‘to make her smell nice’.

To this day, the scent of fresh lavender still takes me right back to being 5 years old again, being driven to school in my Nan’s ‘kangaroo petrol’ car. Boinging about like there was speed bumps the whole way there.

As soon as the Golden Slumbers bath bomb hits the water an eruption of sparkly gold foam bursts out of it. I wish I could take a good quality photo of how beautiful the water looks, you really have to see it for yourself. When I very first used the bath bomb I was surprised to see that the bath bomb was a sparkly gold all the way through. Normally the shimmery Lush products only have a thin coating of lustre.

The photograph below does the bath bomb no justice at all, there is just something so enchanting about the shimmery water that some Lush bath bombs create.

Similar products shimmer-wise are the Frozen, Yoga and Intergalactic bath bomb, although each of them have more colour on offer. The Golden Slumbers bath bomb is strictly gold lustre. It doesn’t create pretty patterns but the golden, sparkly water well makes up for the absence of multicoloured bath art. After all, sometimes less is more.

As far as bath bombs go I’d class Golden Slumbers bath bomb a very messy one. By messy I mean that it is probably the most lustre filled bath bomb I have ever used. I know that some people just can’t get their head around the products with lustre in therefore Golden Slumbers isn’t for everyone.

The lustre that Lush use is however very safe, it is the same shimmer you get in naturally based makeup such as highlighters. I was once completely horrified by the thought of bathing in glitter too, now I have however used it, (by complete accident in the Twilight bath bomb might I add) I just want to kick myself for not doing it sooner. It’s such a pretty and strangely fulfilling experience.

Using the shimmery Lush products also doesn’t equate to any environmental damage as all of it is made out of natural ingredients. You can read more about it in this article published on the Lush website; All That Glitters.

Another important point that I would like to bring up before closing off this review is the other side to it being ‘messy’. I have used it at home several times before and cleaning it afterwards was just the same as cleaning up after an ordinary bath. In my opinion no extra effort is required for any Lush bath bomb and I’ve been using them for years too. I do however take special precautions.

I find that the colour from bath bombs only ever cling to leftover soap scum and dead skin left in your tub from previous bath times. This is why some bath tubs appear stained after a bath bomb. It’s simply just the leftover soap scum soaking up the colour.

I am a huge germaphobe and I always make sure my bath is spotless before I get in and once I get out too. The cleaner you leave your bathtub the easier it is to keep it clean, even when using bath bombs.

For anyone that has some gunky bits that have been coloured, a small drop of fairy liquid followed by a quick whizz around with a sponge should get rid of it, you should already be rinsing out your bathtub after every use because of the gunk and dead skin cells anyway.

I do however know some people don’t. Again, it’s all down to personal preference, I however keep my bathtub clean and because of this I haven’t had any bath bomb ‘staining’ problems at all.

Over all I love the Golden Slumbers bath bomb but advise everyone to use it only in a super clean bath because it is one that will cling to any old residue left in the tub. This is a bit of a nuisance but easily avoidable if you keep it clean beforehand.

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Satsuma Bath Bomb from Lush

I’m a sucker for anything citrus, I’d actually admit here and now that winter used to make me ridiculously miserable, that is until I discovered Lush Cosmetics.

Now every winter I don’t want to just hibernate until the spring time. Instead I focus on all of the exciting new Lush products that are available, the thought of copious amounts of luxurious baths makes the winter months so much more bearable…

As someone who is plagued with high levels of joint pain and fatigue a zesty and rejuvenating bath is always right up my street. This is why I was so, so excited when I first see the big pile of Satsuma Bath Bomb’s at the Lush Creative Showcase 2016.
Satsuma Bath Bomb.png The Satsuma bath bomb is my idea of heaven.

Containing a fine cocktail of citrus-fruit essential oils; Bergamot, Sicilian mandarin, fresh satsuma juice and orange flower absolute, Satsuma really is a zesty and refreshing treat I’d like to get time and time again.

Satsuma shares its scent with last year’s Dashing Santa bath bomb. As sad as I was to find out that Dashing Santa wouldn’t be returning this year, Lush have well made up for it with the addition of 2 new products sharing its same beautiful scent; The Satsuma bath bomb and the new soap, Santa’s Postbox. group test photo.png

The Satsuma bath bomb is only available as part of a Lush 2016 Christmas gift set or on its own at Lush’s flagship store, Lush Oxford Street. I am actually visiting the store next week and will be picking up a fair few of these as I think they are fabulous.

Much like the Blackberry bath bomb the Satsuma bath bomb isn’t as visually pleasing once in the bath (no pretty bath art) its scent however wins me over.

Its carefully selected ingredients help to soothe and refresh my mind, body and soul.

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It’s quite a quick fizzer, I however don’t see this as a negative characteristic, it’s not a ‘bath art’ bomb so I expect it to be a quick, the quicker it fizzes away the quicker I can lay back in it and get my relax on.

My skin once out of the bath feels moisturised, smooth and refreshed, the scent however doesn’t stay on your skin for very long which is a little disappointing.

I have used the Santa’s Post Box soap alongside it and that helps carry the scent for longer although again not for very long.

As much as I love the Satsuma bath bomb I will say that I enjoy it better when paired with other products. My favourite combination so far is 1 half of a Satsuma bath bomb in with 1 half of a Blackberry bath bomb. Just writing about it makes me feel relaxed!

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Autumn Leaf Bath Bomb from Lush

autumn-leaf-bath-bomb When I very first see the Autumn Leaf bath bomb at the Lush Creative Showcase I was really excited. Why? because it is unlike anything Lush have created before.

At this time of year and with Halloween just around the corner… (sorry guys, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but we are now very close to the 4th and final quarter of 2016) … I always find myself drowning in pumpkins, ghosts and skeletons. As much as I love the season, I think that autumn time is about so much more than just things that go bump in the night.

The lack of spookiness that the Autumn Leaf bath bomb has was what first attracted me to it.

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At the Lush Creative Showcase the Autumn Leaf bath bombs were piled high. Even in a room that was full of hundreds of other products you could pin point the Autumn Leafs on scent alone.

The Autumn Leaf bath bomb has a very refreshing, outdoorsy and earthy aroma. For anyone that loves Lush as much as me you’d know that it shares its scent with all of the products in the Grass Lush-scent family.

Grass isn’t my favourite of the Lush scents so I haven’t used many of the products with its scent. The colours and design of this bath bomb however won me over, with that all in mind I feel its earthy and outdoorsy scent suits the autumn season perfectly making it a must have autumn and winter bath bomb.

When you first place the Autumn Leaf bath bomb into your bath water it instantly starts to react. Pastel green foam fizzes from it, slowly decorating the bath water with a thin coat of silky-smooth foam.

As time goes on other colours appear from it too.

As well as the greens there are golds, reds and oranges – All of the amazing colours associated with autumn.

Autumn Leaf is a very slow fizzer. It reminds me of the Skydancer Far from the Madding Guns Bath Bomb because of the way it floats, most other bath bombs float at the top for a short time before spinning, getting the whole of it wet. Autumn Leaf however stays face up, gracefully floating around the bath until it eventually all dissolves.

Overall I really enjoyed using the Autumn Leaf bath bomb, regardless of its Grass scent, (I am always never quite sure if I like it or not but in Autumn Leaf I did!)

Being honest as always, Autumn Leaf didn’t excite me once in the water as much as other bath bombs that have been released by Lush this month. This does not mean I dislike it, I still totally recommend trying it at least once.

The bath art it creates is beautiful and I found myself humming the Disney song from the Pocahontas film while in the bath with it, ‘Can you paint with all the colours of the wind?‘ 😉

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NEW 2016 So White Bath Bomb from Lush

So White Bath Bomb NEW When I see that the So White Bath Bomb had, had a makeover I was a little worried as the older version is one of my all time favourites. When presented with the new So White I was relieved to find that its scent remained the same as the original.

The new So White bath bomb is now shaped more like an actual apple. It has an indentation where the apples stalk would be if it was a real apple and also a single green leaf on its top.

One more difference I could see was that instead of also being completely round, the new So White bath bomb now had one flat side making it more stable if put on display. I’m not sure why some bath bombs have this and others don’t as I’ve never thought to ask. 14390736_1843650849197468_354501053512020218_nn Above is a picture of the new So White bath bomb next to its older design. When I got home and compared both of the designs together I noticed that the newer one also felt a little lighter. The old design had quite a sturdy, solid exterior; One that reminds me of a gob stopper.

The new So White however has a much softer and almost dusty shell, which normally means it is coated with Lush’s foaming agent meaning more froth once in the water!

There was only one way to find out if any more had changed so I put my new So White in the bath, camera at the ready.

It instantly began to foam lots and lots of white. The older version after a few seconds would then start to show its pink exterior. After a minute or so I noticed that there was no pink. It was at that point that the bath bomb began to spin, dunking its one green leaf under the water creating one very small puff of apple green foam.

By this point I was wondering if the bath bomb had a coloured center at all. The older version was pink throughout but the newer design seemed to be white all through. Pink is my favourite colour so I was a little disappointed.

Just as I was about to sit back in the bath thinking that the bath bombs show had already finished the bath bomb suddenly spurted out yellows, blues and greens!

The new colours really did surprise me. When you’re used to a soft pink exterior you really are surprised to see other such vibrant colours appear.

The colours hidden inside the new So White bath bomb are similar to those of the Fizzbanger bath bomb. The introduction of these bright and zesty colours well made up for the absence of its previous pink interior.

The scent of this slow dissolving bath bomb like its older design still allowed my imagination to run wild. The sweet scent of fresh, crisp apples will always be welcome in my bathroom.

After getting out of the bath I could still smell the scent of the So White bath bomb on my skin, the new version was just as good scent wise and my skin felt hydrated and super smooth.

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I never think it is possible to improve upon perfection but Lush Cosmetics go above and beyond my expectations of perfection every time. The newly redesigned So White bath bomb is yet another new Lush product that’s going to drain my bank account of funds. Will Lush ever release a product I don’t like?!

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