review – Page 43 – Lush Upon A Time

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!

Come and say hello to me on social media…
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Tumblr

Candy Bubble Brush Reusable Bubble Bar from Lush

What a time to be alive, especially if Lush’s notoriously sweet, Winter-popular ‘Snow Fairy‘ scent is one of your favourites. I honestly didn’t think there were any more products that Lush could give the Snow Fairy treatment to. However here we are with the Candy Bubble Brush Reusable Bubble Bar. – I must admit that I’m not a huge Snow Fairy fan BUT it’s a pink product so of course I had to give it a go.

The 3 bubble brushes that are currently available in pink, blue and yellow, are all reusable bubble bars BUT with a twist. You use them just as you would any other reusable bubble bar, once you have the desired amount of bubbles in your bath, you are then supposed to dip the bubble bar in the bath water just as you would a paint brush. Next you are meant to glide the bubble brush back and forth over the foamy bubbles to create colourful, bubbly-bath-art. (See below photo).

Photo 18-07-2018, 19 25 31

Although my version of ‘Candy bubble brush bath art’ in the above photo isn’t art gallery worthy, if you do a quick search on Instagram almost immediately you will find copious amounts of photos that have done the most fantastic job of showcasing how wonderful and unique the bubble brushes can be.

Underneath the blanket of Candy scented bubbles is brilliant pink bath water. I often find that Lush reusable bubble bars aren’t as vibrant as the single use ones, the Candy bubble brush is however perfectly vibrant. Below is a photo of the Candy bubble brush being dipped into a small jar of water, obviously this isn’t anywhere near as much water as you’d have in your bath but all it took to create this bright pink water was 60 seconds of the bubble brush sat in it, just as pictured.

Photo 08-08-2018, 14 06 08

Out of the 3 bubble brushes currently available, Candy has been the one I have used the most purely because of its colour. Not only does the Candy bubble brush leave your bath water bright pink but also silky smooth too. Bathing in it for just 10 minutes leaves my skin feeling soft and well nourished. I am surprised that the scent lasts throughout the whole of the bath. Its scent could also be detected on my skin hours after getting out of the bath too, this is something that rarely happens with a reusable bubble bar.

The only thing that irritates me about the bubble brushes is that they are so hard to store without making a huge mess. I leave them to dry on a plastic mat before storing them and that seems to be the easiest and cleanest way that I have found to handle them in between uses (so far anyway.)

phonto-87

Much like the Snow Fairy body conditioner and Snow Fairy jelly bomb the Candy bubble brushes scent is sugar-sweet, anything Snow Fairy scented is always hugely popular with younger customers, however I am almost 30 and although it isn’t my favourite scent family, I do enjoy using the odd Snow Fairy fragranced product every now and again. After all, it wouldn’t be Winter without a bit of Snow Fairy something.

I don’t think that the bubble brushes target audience is specifically just children either, they have proven extremely popular with ALL ages, who doesn’t want to take 10 or 20 minutes out of their day to do something fun and relaxing? I love the bubble brushes because they get my creative juices flowing and also help me clock up those ‘me time’ minutes – and we can all relate to needing more me time! If you’re looking for something a little different and quirky then the new bubble brushes are a must have, I look forward to reviewing the other 2 for you in the near future. Watch this space!

Come and say hello to me on social media…
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Tumblr

Turtle Jelly Bomb from Lush

Mama Turtle Jelly Bomb

The Turtle Jelly Bomb duo, previously only available at 2018’s Lush Summit (under different names) are now currently available for ALL to buy on Lush’s UK website. As far as I am aware, they are also available in most, if not all stores too. Both the Lush Summit and current versions of the Turtle jelly bomb come in 2 sizes. Directly below is a photo of the 2 sizes together.

The Lush Summit versions were called the Mama Turtle and Baby Turtle Jelly Bomb’s and the rebranded versions that are currently available, are called the Turtle Immersion and Turtle Jelly Bomb’s. Originally I was going to do seperate reviews for each, I now however know that the only real difference between the 2 is their size, therefore one review will suffice.

Sea Turtles are one of my favourite animals, I have always been fascinated by them. Be it for their gentle and graceful character, current lengthy life span, incredible size, and their majestic presence… I love everything about them. They’re one of the most peculiar yet precious creatures that planet Earth has been blessed with.

Each one of the Turtle jelly bombs were created by Lush to serve as a reminder of the threat and devastating impact that plastic pollution is having on our oceans. It scares me that if we don’t act now these amazing animals alongside many others will simply cease to exist.

Sharing its scent with the Geo Phyzz bath bomb (the bath bomb responsible for my discovery of the Lush Kitchen) it has a rich outdoorsy scent, its cypress and sandalwood ingredients help lull you into a relaxed state of mind. As soon as I lay back in a Turtle Jelly Bomb bath my muscles instantly begin to lose any tension that has built up in them during the day.

Seeing as this is the first jelly bomb I have reviewed this year I thought it would be wise to briefly explain what they are again. Jelly bombs look just like the average Lush bath bomb, they also work in the same way, the difference between a jelly bomb and a bath bomb is, instead of creating foam, jelly bombs produce a foam-like-jelly that floats on the surface of the water instead. Some of my favourite of the jelly bomb’s so far have been the Secret Arts, The Big Sleep and Snow Fairy.

The creative people behind Lush’s products are always known for making a point in the quirkiest of ways. It isn’t until you use one of the Turtle jelly bombs that you realise just how clever they have been when creating this product. Inside each of the jelly bomb’s is of course, shed loads of jelly BUT also hidden inside of them are small strands of agar agar (see photo below).

Agar agar is a mucilaginous substance extracted from agarophytes seaweed and is often used as an alternative to animal-derived gelatine. When the agar agar comes into contact with water it jellifies again. I hold my hands up… When I very first used the Turtle jelly bomb I had no idea what the little strands floating around my bath water were. I even found myself getting a little irritated.

What I didn’t know when I first used this jelly bomb was that the inclusion of the agar agar strands were not a mistake. Eventually they DID all dissolve alongside the other jelly which I was very pleased about. The agar agar was actually placed in the Turtle jelly bomb as a way to demonstrate to us what plastic waste is doing to our oceans – The sea turtles home.

Unlike the agar agar strands, man made plastic waste does not dissolve. The slight irritation I felt laying in my bath is nothing compared to what the sea turtles and all other sea life are having to endure every day in their natural habitat, through no fault of their own.

A Turtle jelly bomb bath left me with 2 things. Exceptionally silky-soft and hydrated skin and a whole new understanding and realisation of the effect plastic waste is having on the only planet Earth that we have.

Come and say hello to me on social media…
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Tumblr