Needles and Pines shower jelly

This is a product I had overlooked on many of my recent trips to Lush stores as I didn't think the earthy,pine smell would appeal to me. But, on my last visit something compelled me to pick up the sample jelly and give it a sniff. I'm so glad I gave it a chance because I was pleasantly surprised and I just knew a pot had to find its way into my basket. Especially, as I have been indulging in Lush's shower range more and more over recent months, as I have found it hard to find time to fit baths into my hectic life.
I don't know about anyone else, but when I am smelling products in the Lush stores I find it difficult to fully appreciate the complex layers of scent until I get the product home and smell it in my "neutral-scented" bedroom. Once I got this jelly home I feel in love with the smell even more, as I was able to detect the background notes of the scent. I feel this jelly has quite a masculine scent which in some, strange, way reminds of Lynx deodorant which I think comes from the cypress leaf infusion. That being said, I can see both genders enjoying this product and I certainly wasn't put off by this.

In the shower I feel the scent of this product intensifies when it comes in contact with the hot water and the steam fills the bathroom with the refreshing pine scent. I found this jelly to be incredibly versatile in the sense it is perfect for both morning and evening showers. I like to use a really invigorating shower gel or jelly for my morning shower, to wake me up, and this jelly does have a really refreshing note which comes from the inclusion of grapefruit oil, which gives it a citrusy undertone. However, there is something about the scent which is relaxing at the same time so it is equally suited to evening showers.
This jelly does lather fairly well, although I find the lather from Lush's jellies is never on par with that of a shower gel. Nevertheless, it provides enough lather for me to feel I am thoroughly cleansing my skin. My skin feels soft and clean when I exit the shower and I don't get the horrible dry feeling I get on my skin when I use one of Lush's soaps to wash with. The moisturising qualities of this jelly come from the inclusion of a type of seaweed called Carrageenan extract. Thankfully the smell of the seaweed is not detectable! I can't say that I noticed this shower jelly leaving a lingering scent on my skin however I don't mind this as I don't want it to interfere with the perfume I am wearing.
There are a numbers of ways Lush's shower jellies can be used. I have tried putting a piece of the jelly onto a loofa/shower puff however I find the jelly just ends up on the shower floor. So I generally just cup the piece of jelly, I have ripped off, in my hand and rub it directly onto my skin. I feel this produces a lovely thick lather and although I do end up dropping it on a number of occasions, it is the easiest way to use it.
People have recommended I put the jelly into the freezer for a few hours before use for a super refreshing experience, however I am yet to try this but I will give it a go if, and when, the British summer decides to make an appearance!

Angels on Bare Skin

I decided to purchase Angels on Bare Skin (AOBS) after reading so many positive reviews on Instagram. Generally, I use 9 to 5 cleanser on a daily basis and then Ocean Salt about once a week to exfoliate my face. That in mind, I felt AOBS would fit into my collection quite nicely because I could use it when I just need a gentle exfoliator.

AOBS is inspired by a mediaeval recipe and is made with 100% natural ingredients. Ingredients which have been used for years for their benefits on our skin. The main ingredient in this cleanser is ground almonds. The ground almonds act as a gentle exfoliator while also softening and hydrating the skin. Lavender oil is known for its skin healing properties so if you suffer from acne this could be the perfect cleanser to help your spots to heal faster and reduce scarring. Rose oil is thought to balance our skin tone. Kaolin (naturally occurring soft clay) helps to absorb grease and cleanse the skin.

Although I don't suffer from sensitive skin I think this cleanser should be suitable for very sensitive of skin because it contains 100% natural ingredients.

After reading about the benefits of the ingredients I felt like I couldn't go wrong with this cleanser and I wasn't wrong! After the first use I was sold because the results were amazing! It leaves my skin soft, smooth and feeling hydrated.

To use AOBS I take about half a teaspoons worth in to the palm of my hand and add the tiniest amount of warm water. I then mix the water in to produce a paste which I then apply to my face. I gently massage the paste into my skin in circular motions. I then wash it off either in the shower or with a warm flannel, followed by toner and moisturiser as normal.

The smell of AOBS is one I can tolerate but I don't love it. I tolerate the smell because it leaves my skin feeling amazing. To me this cleanser has an oaty, earthy and slighty nutty smell which I think must come from the ground almonds. Despite being sprinkled with lavender flowers I can only detect a very faint smell of lavender.

I bought a 100g tub which costs £6.95 and I can see this lasting me for months if I use it a couple of times a week. I always purchase the 100g tub, as opposed to the 250g tub, because this product only has a 3 month shelf life and with my current usage I would never get through a 250g tub in that time frame.

Ro's Argan Body Conditioner

This review is a bit of a strange one for me because it is the first review I've written where I haven't liked the product. However, I would like to say that these reviews are simply my opinion and I can only comment on how the products work on my skin. Therefore, I can never say a product is rubbish because what doesn't work for my skin might be perfect for somebody elses. Waffle over, I shall begin my review. I bought this body conditioner because I thought it would be the perfect accompaniment for my tub of Turkish Delight shower smoothie as they both share a beautiful rose scent. After massaging a small amount of body conditioner over my skin it was time to rinse it away. But due to the large array of oils in this conditioner it is quite difficult to wash it away as the water just beads off your skin. On leaving the shower my skin felt incredibly greasy even after I had towelled myself dry. It just wouldn't absorb into my skin. Perhaps this issue can be explained by the fact my skin is never dry and therefore doesn't 'drink' up the moisture. Update: Because I don't like to waste my lush products I always try to find a way of using up the products I don't like. With this one I have found I can tolerate this product in tiny amounts so slowly but surely I am using it up. If I do happen to apply too much I have found I can counteract the greasiness by using a dusting powder after towelling myself down. Even when used in tiny amounts this conditioner still leaves a beautiful scent on the skin which can be enjoyed for hours after leaving the shower. I imagine it would be lovely to layer this scent with the rose jam liquid perfume.

Dragon's Egg bath bomb

This is a bath bomb which I feel I have majorly overlooked over the past couple of months. I put my oversight down to the rather bland appearance this bath bomb possesses, it's simply not as eye catching on the shop display when compared to the likes of the experimenter and interglatic. Nevertheless, out of curiosity I picked one up to have a sniff and I knew instantly this bath bomb was going to become a firm favourite. The smell is really citrusy and lemony which is really refreshing. However, I don't find the scent is as sharp as avobath, instead it is much sweeter and has a very slight floral note (which on researching the ingredients list I found this comes from the jasmine absolute). In the water this is a fairly slow fizzer, it produces a lovely white creamy foam on the surface of the water and then as it reaches the core of the bath bomb it oozes a trail of orange foam which also turns the water a pale shade of orange. This ballistic is very moisturising so there is no need for a bath oil/melt, in fact I don't even use a bubble bar with this one because I like to enjoy the creamy foam. Using this bath bomb by itself makes it a very economical bath but it still feels indulgent. As you have probably gathered I love this bath bomb and I use it all the time. I rarely leave a Lush store without picking one up either.

Turkish Delight shower smoothie

Before I started visiting Lush I hated rose scented products. I always felt it was a scent for, shall we say, the older woman. However, since becoming a lushie I have done a massive U-turn and it is now my all time favourite scent. This U-turn began when a Lush shop assistant was talking me through their range of shower products and she handed me the tub of Turkish Delight. I took a sniff and was transported to heaven. I explained to her how I have always hated the smell of rose and she said that my reaction is actually quite a common one because rose scented products that you find in other stores have a very synthetic rose scent however the products at Lush contain real rose oil and rose absolute which is extracted from top quality roses which are imported from Turkey. On smelling this shower smoothie I could not leave the store without it, so I bought a tub. It has now become one of my favourite Lush products ever.
To use this product I either scoop up a small amount in my hand and rub the smoothie directly onto my skin or I put a small amount into my shower puff. Both of these methods produces a wonderful lather and I find a little of this product goes a really long way. I probably only use 50 pence size blob to wash my entire body.
When you wash this off, it can make your skin feel a little bit greasy but don't panic once you enrobe yourself in your towel, this feeling completely disappears and you are left with baby soft, moisturized skin. Not only is your skin left beautifully moisturised, it is also beautifully scented. I find if I have a shower with this smoothie in the evening, I can still smell it on my skin the following morning and my bed sheets also smell of rose.
Just before writing this review I discovered this product is actually being discontinued (gasp!) And I thought "Oh my goodness, I need to stock up on this product, and fast" however I exhailed a sigh of relief when I discovered it is being replaced with the solid roulade version. I have never tried the roulade version but as soon as I can get my hands on some I will do a review for you guys, comparing the different formats. So glad they aren't getting rid of this product completely. I have heard the theory behind the new roulade version is that it requires no packaging and so it is better for the environment.

Ocean Salt self-preserving face and body scrub

I use this scrub once a week instead of my normal cleanser to give my skin a deeper clean and to remove any dead skin cells. Especially as I get dead skin around my nose area (gross I know!).
Although this is also a body scrub I have never used this on my body simply because I feel I would go through so much of this product that it would become expensive but by using it purely on my face I can get loads of uses out of a single 120g tub.
This scrub smells like a zesty cocktail with lashings of lime which makes it really refreshing and it's perfect for waking you up first thing in the morning. This scrub is a fantastic exfoliant. I know some people feel this scrub is too harsh on the face. Somebody even described the experience as rubbing broken glass in your face. But I think this scrub provides the perfect amount of exfoliation, not too soft and not too harsh. While getting rid of dead skin cells and dirt this scrub is also super moisturizing because it contains mango butter, extra virgin coconut oil and avocado butter. The combination of the exfoliation and the oils and butters mean that this scrub leaves my skin baby soft.
I will definitely continue to buy this product.

Sakura bath bomb

Lush describe this bath bomb as a "celebration of spring" which is "bursting with floral fragrance".  When I opened my lush delivery and smelled this bath bomb for the first time I was somewhat surprised because I found the scent to be far from floral, I could only detect a citrusy lemon scent. Nevertheless it was a pleasant smell albeit a subtle one. However, on dropping this into the tub the smell exploded and filled the entire bathroom with the refreshing, yet relaxing, citrusy smell which I loved. But my joy turned to disappoint when I got into the bath because this bath bomb doesn't colour the water, it just leaves it an uninviting murky colour. Due to the pink and blue flecks in the bath I was expecting at least a little colour. While I know this isn't a bath melt, it didn't soften the water like other bath bombs do, and on leaving the bath I did not feel my skin was moisturised which was quite disappointing. Despite my negative view I think I will still continue to purchase this bath bomb because I think it will be brilliant as part of a 'bath cocktail'.