Christmas Rocker Soap

This soap brings me back to the M&S advert a few years ago, when the company tried to convince everyone that their products were exceptionally better than everyone elses. The ingredients list reads like a dessert, and I cannot help but think: If Lush made dessert, it would be the best dessert that the world has ever seen.

What I find really strange is that this soap has caused quite a lot of controversy regarding what customers are proclaiming it smells like. At the risk of sounding crass, Christmas Rocker supposedly smells like a certain male bodily function - although I’m going to be honest and say that I don’t really experience that at all myself.

Amusingly, a lot of Lush fans are also convinced that the odd fragrance was no mistake at all, and that it’s all an elaborate joke from the powers that be. This stems from the tag line that sits alongside the product on their website, which reads: m ‘Come one...come all’. Whether or not you suspect it’s a deliberate attempt at something far more satire than usual, there is no denying that the evidence points to this conclusion. 

As its name suggests, Christmas Rocker is carved out in the shape of an old-fashioned rocking horse, which fits in nicely with the Victorian theme that the seasonal range is leaning towards this year. Although small and seemingly more expensive than other, chunkier pieces of soap, you’ll be pleased to hear that the product is rather rigid in the shower, and will last you just as long as a piece of a bigger size.

Christmas Rocker Soap is not only the cutest one this year, but it also happens to be the best newcomer (in my humble opinion.) Containing dried apricots, mandarin, tangerine and bergamot oils, this limited edition sounds like a bowl of the most exquisite fruit sorbet, and I for one would be all over that idea. 

While the ingredients list reads like The Brightside, I was happy to discover that it did not share the same scent. Although I love that fragrance more than most, customers have already been treated to a soap in that scent with last year’s Sunrise Soap, so I’m glad we had something different to indulge in.

Firstly, my nose picked up quite a strong, tangy orange aroma - a little like a bitter orange that’s been peeled with the pith still intact. The bergamot is clearly at work here - throwing in a little green note to give it more of a fresh, natural aroma. Alongside this, there is a bitter element, which I think comes from the apricots and the bergamot combined. However, there is also a note of what I can only describe as musk. While I wouldn’t assume the cocoa butter would be potent enough to impact the smell, it does smell like an element of this has bled through into the fragrance.

What I found with Christmas Rocker is that it’s far more pleasant once it has come into contact with warm water. I couldn’t really detect much of the scent while it was sitting on the edge of my bath. However, the second I began massaging it across my skin, I could pick up a far better fruity smell to enjoy. While I wouldn’t say this was a scent that I appreciated that much, it’s definitely not as terrible as people have been saying it is. It’s just a little bit average and forgettable, if anything.

Despite its odd smell, Christmas Rocker worked up a treat - creating a creamy, fragrance lather to massage across my body. It produced a bright orange foam, which you need to be careful about not splashing anywhere while you’re washing yourself, and left my skin feeling rather soft and radiant.

While the scent didn’t stay on my skin afterwards, I was surprised to discover that the inclusion of the butter and oils did make this soap a little gentler on my body, and I wasn’t left with really parched skin - which I often experience after using a lot of soaps. Much like most of Lush’s new gourmet soaps, this one also dissolved rather quickly when I kept it under the running water during use. For this reason, I would suggest you get it damp and then clean yourself out of the way of the running tap. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this soap and don’t really understand why so many people have expressed their dislike of the fragrance. Although I can understand why consumers might reach the conclusion about what the soap might smell like, I think there are far too many other components that make it a nice soap. Having said that, a ‘nice’ soap is not one that will be remembered in a few months time, and I can’t imagine why this would make an appearance again.

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Dried Apricots, Sodium Hydroxide, Perfume, Mandarin Oil, Tangerine Oil, Bergamot Oil, Gardenia Extract, Glycerine, Titanium Dioxide, Citric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 15510.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £4.50 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2017.

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Snowcloud Soap

Sometimes I get the impression that Lush put a great deal of effort into their releases; other times it seems almost as if they’ve not thought things through. When it comes to Snowcloud Soap, this beautiful little seasonal special is sure to be overlooked, when up against the likes of the stunning Golden Pear Soap, and the classic Baked Alaska, that is so potent in smell and colour. However, those that do venture into trying this soap out to size, will hopefully appreciate just how lovely the soap actually is. 

Shaped like a cloud and sporting a rather dull-looking white/grey design, Snowcloud offers a sweet and slightly fruity floral fragrance. Sharing its scent with the non-vegan Orange Blossom Liquid Perfume, I was extremely happy that I was finally able to enjoy this scent, although I would obviously have preferred it if I had a better format in which to do it with. While I was able to briefly appreciate it when I used Elbow Grease for the first time, my guilt at discovering it wasn’t vegan was enough to turn my experience bitter very quickly.

Made from a collaboration of rosewood, ylang ylang, orange flower, sandalwood and neroli, this soap sounded on paper like it was going to offer a very heavy fragrance. Yet, Lush have managed to balance out these components so that you experience something rich and robust; yet something that is also beautifully delicate and feminine. 

The rosewood, ylang ylang and orange flower create a dry, musky and very floral base for this soap - yet one that isn’t particularly heavy on the senses. I think the inclusion of the sandalwood helps these floral notes from being too aggressive, as there is a very subtle wordiness that rounds all four components off perfectly. Alongside this, the inclusion of the neroli adds a delicate sprinkling of citrus, which adds a slight bitterness, but helps to make the aroma slightly refreshing as well.

As with all of Lush’s gourmet soaps, this one features a base of cocoa butter - which means that it is a little more moisturising than their usual soaps. As with most of the seasonal range, I did find that this one was created a thick, slightly oily lather to clean myself with, and there was an abundance of it to use so I didn’t keep having to hold this under the shower to stimulate the ‘foam’. In fact, I would highly recommend that you keep this away from the running water as much as you can, as this soap shrunk really quickly for me, and definitely doesn’t work out good value for money when it’s dissolved away into nothing after only two weeks.

What sets this soap apart from the other seasonal releases, is that this one also features kaolin - an ingredient known for absorbing excess moisture, cleaning out pores and softening the skin. I found that Snowcloud was great to use on my hands after a day out in the freezing cold. Using this straight away helped to elevate the redness and soften my skin at the same time. Having said that, I wouldn’t only use this soap as a hand wash, as it does leave its scent on your skin afterwards, and it seems like a bit of a waste to use it on only one body part. 

Ultimately, Snowcloud is definitely a soap that most likely got overlooked in favour of some of the more vibrant-looking variations - which is a shame given how much this soap offers. I actually really enjoyed using my single piece of this, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this appeared at some point in the near future. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Propylene Glycol, Marshmallow Root Decoction (Althaea Officinalis) (Althaea Officinalis Root Extract), Kaolin, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera), Water (Aqua), Organic Castor Oil (Ricinus communis), Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance, Talc, Glycerine, Titanium Dioxide, Neroli Oil (Citrus Aurantium amara), Orange Flower Absolute (Citrus Aurantium amara) (Citrus Aurantium Amara (Orange) Flower Water) Rosewood Oil (Aniba rosaeodora), Sandalwood Oil (Fusanus spicatus), Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Citric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, *Linalool, *Limonene, *Hydroxycitronellal, Benzyl Benzoate, Geraniol, Blue 1, Red 4, Red 33.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £4.75 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2017.

Scent Family: 
Elbow Grease Moisturising Bar
Mandarin's Tea Party Soap

Orange Blossom Bath Oil (Oxford Street 2015)

Orange Blossom Candle 

Orange Blossom Liquid Perfume (non vegan)

Snowcloud Soap

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Hedgewitch Soap

Too many soaps; too little time I say - my skin is certainly not going to be happy with me when I manage to get through this year's seasonal collection. Yet it is such a shame that my skin doesn't react well to the many variations that Lush offer, as the fragrances that come with them are far superior to their rather pathetic range of shower gels that are currently on show. 

One of two brand new products to feature the Plum Rain fragrance, this limited edition will have you salivating with its collection of different berries - which not only offer a beautiful, fruity scent to indulge in, but also works at cleansing the pores and radiating the skin at the same time.

Based on a witch who creates herbal and plant-based healing concoctions, Hedgewitch claims to put the spring back into your skin. With freeze-dried blackberries and dried mulberries in the ingredients list, Hedgewitch reads more like a dessert than a cosmetic. Both of these components help to clean the pores and work as antioxidants to clean and clear the skin at the same time. The inclusion of the osmanthus absolute adds a sweet but subtly green fragrance to the soap, which along with the mandarin oil gives this seasonal special a light, sweet but very fruity fragrance.

Strangely, the soap features a honeysuckle infusion which is something that neither the body spray or the shower gel feature. However, honeysuckle is known for its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, which is a bonus for those using the soap regularly on your skin. As I use most of my soaps as hand soaps anyway, this extra feature is a welcome bonus for my skin. 

While this soap does have the same fragrance as Plum Rain, it is not an exact replica. The inclusion of both the honeysuckle and the osmanthus add a green, almost floral note to the scent, which sits alongside the fruity components and add a different spin

Unfortunately for me, I ended up being sent a slab that was mostly red, which is a shame given that the whole wheel contains a combination of different colours. However, it did complement the fruity fragrance so I wasn't overly bothered by that fact. I was also hoping to receive a number of pieces of both mulberries and blackberries in both of the pieces I bought, as I was hoping the soap might be a little exfoliating with these under the surface. Unfortunately, these are sparsely added in across the entire wheel, so you may be lucky if you get one or two piece throughout the whole chunk.

Surprisingly, I discovered that this, along with many of the seasonal soaps, features a gourmet base - which I was hoping would mean that Hedgewitch would be far more moisturising than a typical Lush Soap. I did find that the lather it created was super creamy and slightly oily in consistency, although this still didn't perform miracles for my skin.

What I will say is that the soap produces a rich, creamy gel-like foam that massages across your body with ease. You need very little water to stimulate the ingredients in this seasonal special, and those who love fruity fragrances will love how the scent lingers for a short time on the skin afterwards. This 100g block lasted me a good two-to-three months before it was too small to hold under the water. For this reason, it is much better value than the shower gel. 

While in use, I found that my skin looked and felt really radiant, and after I had towelled myself down, my skin appeared quite plump and soft - thanks no doubt to the inclusion of the cocoa butter. However, some areas felt quite taut after a short time, and I did need to apply a body lotion to ensure that my skin stayed as supple as it felt in the shower.

This is a great soap to use in the winter time and I will continue to use my last piece until I run out. As I said above, Hedgewitch is great for fans of Plum Rain, who want something a little brighter, fruiter and slightly greener. However, it's unlikely that a soap will ever be able to replace my love of shower gels, and I will not be buying any more of these before the season is out.

Quantitative Ingredients: Honeysuckle Infusion (Lonicera capifolium), (Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Extract), Propylene Glycol, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera), Water (Aqua), Organic Castor Oil (Ricinus communis), Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance, Osmanthus Absolute (Osmanthus fragrance), Petitgrain Oil (Citrus Aurantium amara), Sicilian Mandarin Oil (Citrus nobilis), Freeze Dried Blackberries (Rubus Fruticosus) Dried Mulberries (Morus Alba), Glycerine, Titanium Dioxide, Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Citric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, *Citral, *Limonene, *Linalool, Red 4 Yellow 8 Red 28 Red 33 Green 5.

Vegan?: Yes. 

2017 Price: £4.95 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2017.

Scent Family:
Hedgewitch Soap
Plum Rain Body Spray
Plum Rain Naked Shower Gel
Plum Rain Shower Gel
Plum Snow Bubble Bar

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Orangutan Soap

This review was going to start by throwing some shocking facts at you, about how little Orangutans there are left in the wild, and how endangered they have now become because of deforestation in Sumatra, Indonesia. However, the shocking fact is that far too many animals have now been added to the 'soon to be extinct' list, and it's a sad state of affairs that not many people are doing very much to diminish that list. 

Orangutan Soap was release by Lush a few months ago - to not only raise money for the Sumatran Orangutan Society (to buy 50 hectares of land and restore it back to native forest) but to educate the world on just one of many problems happening around the globe, that may not reach our ears, eyes and hearts otherwise.  

When head buyer Simon Constantine discovered the impact that the sourcing of ingredients was having on the planet, he established a commitment to removing palm oil from all Lush products and rectifying the the damage that the company had done by using the ingredient up until that point.

This is why Orangutan Soap is both palm oil-free and made from extra virgin coconut oil - directly sourced from Nias, Sumatra. This limited edition is a celebration of how far Lush have come in creating sustainable and responsible sourcing across the globe, as well as raise money for an important, and possibly life-changing, project in Indonesia. 

Containing both patchouli and orange, this adorable looking soap is hand-carved and vividly orange. To the nose, I can smell the patchouli from the start. Unlike both Lord Of Misrule and Karma, there is nothing softening this component at all, so the soap gives off an exotic and rather spicy, green smell. While pine is not in the ingredients list, I can also detect a gentle homage to it, as the patchouli is rich, dark and slightly phosphorus. 

The orange is slightly on the bitter side as well, although this could just be the patchouli's impact overall. However, the citrus note is very dry and tangy to my senses - meaning that this soap offers a strong and perhaps very acquired smell. This is not one that would suit many other formats, and makes a huge impact overall: hopefully mimicking what the money made from this will do for the dwindling species.   

Firstly, this soap is incredibly generous with its lather - producing a very watery but equally cleaning 'foam' by which to clean your body with. In fact, you should probably not hold this soap anywhere near water for more than a second or two, because the soap will give you far more liquid than you could possibly use in a single shower. I should probably warn you that Orangutan will get very messy when in use - splattering orange residue all over your bathroom tiles and tub. Storage can also be a bit of a problem as the soap is hesitant to dry itself, and if left will fester in a puddle of its own mess, which will ultimately shrink the soap very quickly. 

Linking on to this, I will say that this soap has a very gentle consistency, so if you're going to use it, I would recommend cutting off small chunks and using it this way. As a whole, I found that the soap had shrunk by almost half within the first two weeks of using it, which makes it one of the quickest diminishing soaps I had had from Lush in a long time. Having said that, the aroma is potent enough that it will stay on the skin for a good while after exiting the shower - although I was expecting it to be even stronger than it ultimately turned out to be. 

As far as soaps go, it wasn't particularly moisturising for me, but then this is just my skin type and the way it usually reacts to most soaps. I did find that I had to moisture afterwards, and this meant that the fragrance didn't stay around for too much after this point. 

Ultimately, this soap is fantastic, despite how quickly it shrunk and how much moisture it seemed to remove from my skin. The money raised from each sale will go towards a much-deserved cause, and I just happen to receive a soap out of doing so. I will always support the company in their endeavours to educate their customers, and I have gained a lot more out of this release than just a soap.

Quantitative Ingredients: Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Patchouli Oil, Brazilian Orange Oil.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £8.25 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2017.

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Snow Fairy Cold-Pressed Soap

Sometimes Lush make decisions that confuse me a little - make me think that perhaps I have little understanding of how they work and what goes into creating a seasonal range. When it came to Snow Fairy Cold Pressed Soap, I was initially perplexed about the purpose of its release - only because Lush Mechanic shares the same scent and is available to purchase freely online across the year. However, the more I delved into my thoughts, the more I began to engage with multiple reasons for why the company have done such a thing. 

Firstly, Lush Mechanic is not readily available across the globe, so this seasonal soap is a great opportunity for Snow Fairy Fans to try out something new in the fragrance. Secondly, the soap will be available in stores - not just online, so consumers have better access to it without feeling like they have to invest in a large order. Finally, as there are so many products with the same smell already, this offers an even bigger expanse for consumers who have a sweet tooth.

Being someone who is very much into healthy eating, I was already aware of what cold-pressed meant in terms of the food industry and how this idea might transpire into a soap. Although most companies tend to heat up their oils, melt them down and mix them together before leaving them to set, cold-pressed is when ingredients are pressed, ground down and mixed together while keeping the temperature low at all times (below 49°C to be precise). The lack of heat used throughout this process means that the oils retain all of their flavour, aroma and nutritional value - making them better for consumption as well as for the skin.

While soaps that have been produced in this fashion tend to be harder because the ingredients are quite heavily compressed together, they tend to have a  longer life span than regular soaps because they contain less liquid - liquid that would normally evaporate over time and dry the soap out. To prove this point, I have had all three of Lush's new cold-pressed soaps for near enough three months now and they have not changed in consistency at all during this time.

Snow Fairy Soap contains a base of coconut, almond and castor oil, along with a generous helping of cocoa butter to soften things up. While I don't find Cold Pressed soaps to be as moisturising as gourmet soaps, there is still something appealing about the thick lather that most seem to create in the shower. This one was no exception - creating creamy, florescent pink suds to massage across the skin. What I really liked about this Soap, was that it even lathered up when I ran it across my body, which some soaps don't do. This meant that I was able prevent my hands from becoming too dry after usage, and the consistency gave me a gentle exfoliation at the same time. 

The inclusion of the synthetic musk is what gives this product its famous Snow Fairy fragrance, although it isn't a direct replica of the shower gel. While sweet and musky, I felt as if the smell of this was more like perfume - in that it wasn't so sickly or as fruity. There is something slightly more grounded about this scent that allows it to be a little more warming than your average Snow Fairy product. 

What was impressive about this limited edition was that, even though I used this directly under the running water, it didn't shrink particularly fast as some of Lush's other seasonal specimens. Furthermore, it was relatively fast at drying afterwards, so I would imagine it would last a good six weeks before needing to be replaced.

Unfortunately, I didn't find that this left my skin as desirable as it needs to be in the winter months. I still needed to moisturise daily, which I don't have to do with other Shower gels and jellies. Having said that, regular readers know my skin type by now, and I know that others I have spoken to have said that it's been moisturising for them. What I will say though is that Snow Fairy Cold Pressed Soap did leave my skin feeling clean and smooth, and maybe a generous helping of the Body Conditioner might have worked well in unison to creating velvet-soft skin.

While the scent did linger on my body afterwards, it was very faint on my skin and didn't stay around for particularly long. Had I paired this with the recently released Body Spray, I might have been able to extend this sweet, delicate experience.

Overall, this cold-Pressed Soap will be a favourite with consumers this year, if only because of the fragrance it pertains, and the cute design - which will definitely appeal to those who like bright, playful colours. This is not one I would buy again, although this is more because it doesn't suit my skin type as opposed to the product being at all bad.

Quantitative Ingredients: Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Water (Aqua), Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Hydroxide, Cream of Tartar, Perfume, Almond Oil, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Castor Oil, Glycerine, Tapioca Starch, Citric Acid, Titanium Dioxide, Synthetic Musk, Propylene Glycol, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Tin Oxide, *Limonene, Alpha-Isomethyl ionone, Colour 45410, Colour 73360, Colour 45350, Natural Ingredients, Safe Synthetics.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £5.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2017.

Scent Family:

Best Washes Wash Card
Bubblegum Lip Scrub
Candy Fluff Ballistic
Candy Fluff Perfume
Candy Fluff Dusting Powder
Fairy Dust Dusting Powder
Father Christmas Bath Bomb
Fluffy Egg Bath Bomb
Godmother Soap
Lush Mechanic Cold-Pressed Soap
Magic Wand Bubble Bar
Melting Marshmallow Moment Bath Oil
Mmmelting Marshmallow Bath Melt
Pink Easter Egg Ballistic
Snow Fairy Body Conditioner
Snow Fairy Body Spray
Snow Fairy Cold-Pressed Soap
Snow Fairy Jelly Bath Bomb
Snow Fairy Lip Tint
Snow Fairy Liquid Perfume
Snow Fairy Naked Body Conditioner
Snow Fairy Naked Shower Gel
Snow Fairy Shower Gel
Snow Fairy Solid Perfume
Snow Fairy Sparkle Jar
Snow Fairy Sparkle Massage Bar

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Golden Pear Soap

Once every so often, Lush bring out a product that completely defies the  general constraints of cosmetics, and showcases exactly why this company are at the top of their creative game in the industry. This particular product is artistically stunning and makes you feel almost bad that you have to use it to clean yourself with.

Golden Pear Soap must have caused major excitement when it was first created in the laboratory - a soap that is not only extremely beautiful to look at but also contains so many exquisite ingredients, should be celebrated without a doubt. In fact, each and every time I have used this product, I have felt extremely grateful that the opportunity for me to do so has been there. 

First and foremost, this soap contains an entire jar of pear puree - an ingredient that Lush don't use all that often, and certainly not to that extent. This not only brings out the extraordinary scent that I'll describe in a minute, but it also helps to give this soap a wonderful consistency when being used. There is something rather thick and wholesome about the lather that this product produces, and I think the pear puree has a big part to play in that. 

As if this wasn't enough, Golden Pear also features both sandalwood and cardamom oils. Neither of these components offer particularly strong notes of fragrance overall, but they do give a warmth that you can feel and smell in the shower. In as many words, this soap is a rich, dessert-like feast for the senses, and you can feel that decadence when using it in the shower. 

Surprisingly, I found that the soap was incredibly moisturising from the get-go.  In a rare feat from Lush, this soap not only produced a lather that immediately softened my skin, but one that continued to work long after I had exited the shower. In fact, it has only happened to me on two other occasions, that a soap has not dried my skin out or at least made me want to moisturise afterwards. For this reason, the soap is very much revered by me, and there is no doubt that I will be buying many more of these before the season is out. 

A combination of coconut oil and cocoa butter help to produce a thick, wholesome lather to wash yourself with. While it can be a little rigid at first, when massaging across your skin, I found that stimulating it between my hands first heeded better results. The inclusion of the murumuru butter that sandwiches both pieces together in the middle, help to add moisture to your experience, and you can feel that while you're massaging it across your body.

What I found most surprising was that, despite its size (which I thought was a little on the small side, given the price tag), the soap didn't seem to shrink as quickly as a lot of the other seasonal soaps that I was using around the same time. In fact, while a 100g chunk normally lasts me no more than a month with daily usage, this one is still sitting in my bathroom after almost two months. Unlike a lot of other soaps that also like to 'bleed' on surfaces, this one dries really quickly, and so you don't have to worry about finding messy glitter trails across your bathroom after you've used this. 

To describe this scent is like trying to explain what it must smell like to walk through Wonka's chocolate factory. For such a gentle fragrance, there are so many elements that tantalise the senses. To my nose, the scent is like hot stewed pears and oranges, with a little dash of cardamom to bring a warmth that is very much needed during this time of year. It's super sweet and fruity; sultry and rich - there is something rather succulent about the aroma that gives it a real rounded appeal. 

Despite the incredible fragrance that this offers, there were two downsides that I found. Firstly, the scent is not particularly strong to begin with. While some will no doubt appreciate the subtle sweetness that it offers, I would much prefer to enjoy this smell at a more intense level. Secondly, the aroma didn't linger much on the skin afterwards and it was completely masked after I had sprayed perfume on myself.

Overall, I would love to see this fragrance made into a body lotion or a shower gel. While I may have to wait another year to see this become a reality, the wait would be worth it I'm sure. As I stated above, I will be buying more of these, and I highly recommend that you grab yourself one to try before they disappear (hopefully not forever!)

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Organic Castor Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Pear Puree, Perfume, Glycerine, Cardamom Oil, Brazilian Orange Oil, Sandalwood Oil, Murumuru Butter, Almond Oil, Organic Agave Syrup, Citric Acid, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Bicarbonate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Iron Oxides Silica, Tin Oxide, Citronellol, Coumarin, Eugenol, *Limonene, Colour 45410, Colour 45350, Fair Trade Whole Organic Clove.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £6.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2017.

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Hidden Mountain Soap

At the risk of repeating myself, most of my readers know that I am not a huge fans of soap at all. Despite Lush creating some incredible scents in this format, they just don't get on with my skin. As someone with quite a dry complexion, I have found that most of the company's soaps leave my body feeling parched, and then I need to moisturise heavily afterwards, which brings about problems of its own.

For this reason, I was not particularly enamoured to see so many new variations in this year's seasonal range. As someone who feels the need to try and review every vegan product Lush offer to consumers, I knew that I would need to work my way through every single one of them - which wasn't going to be the best news for my already winter-touched skin.

Hidden Mountain was the first one I reached for - not because I was overly excited with the scent, but because the premise and design grabbed my attention immediately. If there is one (only) thing I love about the cold weather, it's the brisk through the local woodlands, while wrapped in a million layers to keep myself from freezing to death. I am definitely a country person at heart, and the cold weather brings about a romanticism when I think about exploring woods and forests.

This soap immediately offered a rapport that reminded me of both Needles And Pine Shower Jelly and Tramp Shower Gel. In fact, I have heard rumours that the soap is supposed to be a combination of the latter and Grass, and I can definitely relate to that description as well. Either way, this product is definitely one for those who like grassy, earthy smells.

Containing ho wood oil and labdanum resinoid, Hidden Mountain offers a green floral smell with woody undertones that support and pad out of the overall fragrance. Labdanum has a very rich, resinous smell about it and I see this as the dominant note overall. Despite it being low in the mix, the lavender can be detected, and offers a subtle dry, floral component as well. 

To me, this soap really is like walking through a forest after it has snowed - the ferns and woodland plants wet and bleeding that earthy, green phosphorus smell into the air; the shrubbery and fallen branches adding a cloudy and quite saturated woody smell. It's definitely not a scent for the faint-hearted, and when you use this you will find the aroma follows you around for hours later.

What I enjoyed about Hidden Mountain was that the inclusion of cocoa butter meant that this soap was a little gentler on my skin. While I would never claim that it was moisturising for me, I did use it for successive weeks as a hand soap, and I never once suffered from dry or damaged skin. In fact, the soap brought about a slight clarity to my hands - meaning that there was almost a radiance to my skin after using it. Furthermore, the scent clung to my skin like an icicle on a tree branch, and I was once complimented on my 'perfume' some three hours later, which was impressive. 

For those who appreciate soaps more than I do, and love the fragrance of this one, I should warn you that this shrunk at an alarming rate. After using it around 3-4 times in the shower, the 100g piece I had bought had almost halved in size. For this reason, you need to make sure that it does not come into contact with the running water very often, and that you pat the piece down once you have finished bathing. 

Ultimately, this was never going to be a product I would rave about; neither was it ever going to be one that I bought multiple pieces of. However, I did really appreciate the smell of Hidden Mountain and I can see how someone with skin that's a little less drier than mine might benefit from using this.  

Quantittaive Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Organic Castor Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Perfume, Kaolin, Ho Wood Oil, Labdanum Resinoid, Lavender Oil, Coarse Sea Salt, Citric Acid, Glycerine, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Bicarbonate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Tin Oxide, Iron Oxides, Alpha-Isomethyl ionone, *Coumarin, *Eugenol, Oakmoss Extract, Colour 42090.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £5.40 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2017. 

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Chocolate Easter Egg Soap

It's been many years since I have associated the Easter celebrations with chocolate - this was even before I became vegan and the options for seasonal sweeties was drastically reduced. The truth is that, aside from Christmas, I barely acknowledge other celebrations that occur throughout the year. So this brand new soap is the first time in a while that I've combined such decadence with this time of year.

If I'm going to be honest, Chocolate Easter Egg Soap is a pretty uninspiring name for a product. Lush must have been having a difficult/lazy day in the office when they decided upon giving this limited edition its name. As the company are normally fairly well known for their wittiness and play on words, the simplicity is almost disappointing. However, this isn't really a valid reason for slating a product, and as it turns out, the soap is rather good. 

Sporting a vivid yellow body, with oval red spots and zig-zag green lines, this soap doesn't give you any indication about how it smells from its physical design. In fact, I was almost taken back upon smelling this initially, as it wasn't like anything I was expecting to come from such a bright and colourful product.

Featuring vegan white chocolate as one of the key components, I was hoping this soap would smell good enough to eat, and it didn't take me long in the shower to attempt the little nibble that I'd been possessed to do ever since I smelt the product for the first time. It's easy to recognise the power that the white chocolate has on the aroma, as the soap offers a rich, sickly-sweet fragrance that I associate with the confectionary.

In a small way, this soap reminds me of the Yog Log Roulade that came out last Christmas, albeit less musky smelling and far creamier. The inclusion of the vanilla definitely helps to give Chocolate Easter Egg Soap a rich, sultry smell - one that I would say has an element of caramel to it as well. While it's difficult to make out the grapefruit and lemon oil in the scent, I can appreciate how both of these components no doubt elevate the sultry, foody smell that we're able to appreciate overall. 

I can see why some consumers would be a little disappointed with this product, as I do think that the aroma is rather soft, and not perhaps as strong as you might like if you're into your chocolate. At the same time however, I don't quite know whether or not the smell would be too overpowering and sickly, if it was elevated any more in this format.

What I think works quite well is the fact that the smell is very subtle and gentle - meaning you can really appreciate the richness of the white chocolate and the vanilla in the mix. Much like opening a bar of chocolate, there is enough here to satisfy your tastebuds, without making the scent too overwhelming.

While this is quite stubborn in the shower, it does produce a lovely thick, yellow lather - that smooths over your body with ease and leaves a gentle smell on your skin. This fragrance lingers for a short time after you've towelled yourself down, but tends to fade once you use any other products on your body.

Surprisingly, I did find that my skin felt smooth after using this, although those with dry or sensitive skin may find that this leaves them feeling a little dry afterwards. This worked really well with Formulae Known As, as this discontinued body lotion complimented the chocolate element quite well. 

Overall, this is not a soap that I want to rave about, but it definitely gives chocolate lovers another chance to indulge themselves, especially if they're looking for alternatives that don't involve eating too many easter eggs. Thankfully, this 200g block is really robust and will easily last me until the end of the year, where I can only hope that Lush have released some other decadent products to enjoy until this makes a reappearance the following year. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Glycerine, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Sorbitol, Perfume, Vegan White Chocolate, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Grapefruit Oil, Sicilian Lemon Oil, Vanilla Absolute, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, Citric Acid, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Bicarbonate, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 45350, Colour 14700, Colour 17200, Colour 42090.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £4.20 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2017.

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