Berry Berry Christmas Shower Gel

Despite my aversion to the colder weather,  there has always been something about Christmas that has excited me and drawn me in. The festive season, including all of the wonder smells that I associate with the month of December, are part of that magic, and probably play a bigger role in my celebrations than I even realise myself.

However, when I first gave Berry Berry Christmas Shower Gel a sniff, my immediate thought was that this was not a festive fragrance at all. In fact, this was a scent that I'd expect Lush to bring out during the hottest months of the year - not one I fancied cozying up with on a bitterly-cold winter morning, when I'm struggling to get myself ready for work.

It's safe to say that multiple showers later this limited edition has grown on me significantly, and I now recognise the shower gel for what it is: a scent that is designed to compliment the colder weather as opposed to banishing it altogether.

Packed full of fruity goodness, this seasonal delight boats a cranberry infusion as its base ingredient - a component that not only creates a dry and rather tart aroma, but also offers many wonderful antioxidants to cleanse your skin with - leaving it feeling wonderfully fresh for the rest of the day. A combination of both orange and bergamot oil brings out the citrus element of all three ingredients, while the latter oil also offers a note of green that wraps itself around the fruity fragrance.

While it appears to offer a unique smell, that is only replicated by the naked version of the shower gel, Berry Berry Christmas is very similar in scent to that of Ocean Salt. There is something very crisp about it that awakens and intensifies your senses in the shower. Yet there is also something quite simplistic about the aroma as well. It's one of those smells that leaves you feeling really clean because it's very light, but equally as invigorated.

Much like the naked edition, this bottle of seasonal goodness offers a wonderfully rich emerald-esque coat: one that shimmers in the bottle and produces a gorgeously rich and fluffy lather in the shower. This is perhaps one of Lush's thickest shower gels: it's one that when you squeeze it out, it appears almost like a rubber band, and it'll shoot straight back into the bottle if you don't transfer it onto a hand or a loofer. 

As I said above, you really don't need very much at all to create a thick, fluffy and very fragrant foam to wash yourself with, so this shower gel should see you far longer than some of the runnier ones on offer. In comparison to the naked version, I would expect a 250g bottle of this to be used up a little quicker than the solid edition. However, there are a few other differences between the two that should be noted, when making a choice on which one to go for.   

From experience, I felt as if this version had a stronger, more vibrant fruity aroma. While the naked edition does offer the same smell, I felt as if it was a little more reserved than the liquid edition. For this reason, I found that Berry Berry Christmas Shower Gel left less of an impression on skin - probably because the fragrance wasn't as compact as the naked edition, therefore it 'escaped' far quicker.

Secondly, I felt as if this version was not as moisturising as its naked sibling. While my skin felt soft, smooth and clean after my shower, it didn't appear to be as well-nourished as the solid version left me. Having said this, I did prefer using this liquid gel more because I felt as if I got a better experience of the aroma whilst I was in the shower. 

Overall, I think this is a lovely edition to the Christmas range, and definitely something very different to the usual scents that Lush offer at this time of the year. This is one that I would buy again in the future, and it would be good to see a bath bomb or bubble bar in this scent, in the near future.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cranberry Infusion, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Glycerine, Water (Aqua), Lauryl Betaine, Sweet Wild Orange Oil, Fresh Blueberry Juice, Bergamot Oil, Olive Leaf Absolute, Cornstarch, Lactic Acid, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Perfume, *Limonene, *Linalool, *Citral, Colour 42090.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £11.95 for 250g, £19.95 for 500g.

Year Of Original Release: 2017.

Scent Family:
Berry Berry Christmas Naked Shower Gel

Berry Berry Christmas Shower Gel

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Berry Berry Christmas Naked Shower Gel

While Lush have created some questionable products over the years, the idea of a naked shower gel is perhaps one of the coolest and most innovative of the lot. Although they will always receive backlash from many consumers who dislike or even worry about their creativity, this is one of their designs that I just knew would be exceptional. And I wasn't wrong. 

Berry Berry Christmas Naked Shower Gel is a brand new product for 2017 - one of four being made available throughout the Christmas season as limited editions. Coming in at roughly 12cm in height, this solid variation looks rather minuscule next to its liquid sibling. However, from only a few uses, I can already determine that this will probably outlast a 250g bottle easily, as long as it is stored in the correct manner. 

Despite most consumers recognising the need to reduce wastage, many continue to purchase products packaged in plastic or other such materials. Lush have decided to up their game and show the world that you can create impeccable products, whilst making them ethically sound at the same time. 

Although on paper, these naked gels might sound like glorified soap, I can assure you that they do not work as such. For someone who's body is rather opposed to most soaps, this limited edition did not dry my skin out at all. In fact, I found Berry Berry Christmas to be really moisturising on my skin, and I was able to enjoy the benefits of silk-soft skin for hours after I had used it.

Despite its deep, lustre-speckled emerald coat, this shower gel smells very different to the forest-like fragrance that I was expecting. With a cranberry infusion as the base ingredient, this seasonal special combines sweet orange oil, fresh blueberry juice and bergamot oil in a light but super fruity collaboration.

My nose detects both the orange oil and the bergamot oils as the key ingredients. These two intertwine and produce a bright but rather tart citrus aroma - one with elements of green that help to give the gel an almost bitter edge to it. While the cranberry infusion has been included because of its incredible antioxidant properties, and not to add to the fragrance as such, you're still able to detect a subtle hint of dryness in the mix, which I associate with the smell of fresh cranberries.

To use Lush's naked shower gels, they simply need to come into contact with water. Holding them under water for a brief second, or massaging them between two wet hands, will immediately begin to produce a thick, fragrant lather to use all over your body. You can then choose to run the bottle itself across your skin in a circular motion, or produce the lather in your hands and then use these to distribute the foam.

Either way, I was really impressed to find that I didn't need to hold the product for long to produce the amount of lather that I needed to wash my whole body. I was worried at first that the bottle would shrink a lot quicker because of this constant exposure to water. However, I found that I only needed to use Berry Berry Christmas Naked Shower Gel for a few seconds before I was able to rest it out of the way of the running water, and allow it to dry. 

When it comes to storage, it is important that all of Lush's naked shower gels are allowed to dry in between uses. Although I wouldn't advocate leaving them somewhere too warm, they are different from soaps in the fact that they dry very quickly. You don't have to worry about colours running down your bath like a lot of soaps tend to do if they're left.

Having used both this and the liquid version side-to-side, I discovered that the naked format is slightly more rounded in scent, and I didn't detect as much of the orange in the overall smell. In as many words, it's a little more reserved and not as tart as the liquid gel. Having said that, I was able to detect its fragrance for up to two hours after I rinsed it away from my body - which is a little longer than the liquid version was able to do.

Overall, I really enjoyed using this naked product and I'm now even more excited than before to try the other variations. Despite being a massive advocate of Lush's shower gels, I thought that I might oppose to the solid editions as I assumed they would be far messier and less likely to 'keep' for as long as the bottled versions. However, I have faith that I could leave this on the shelf for a good year and it wouldn't lose its scent, or create a mess either.

Although not strictly a Christmas scent, Berry Berry Christmas Naked Shower Gel is a refreshing and equally upbeat fragrance: one that will compliment the colder weather while also banishing those winter blues. This simple, elegant shower gel will not only leave your skin feeling plump and well-moisturised, but its lack of packaging will help you to sleep easier alongside this.

Quantitative Ingredients: Cranberry Infusion, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Sodium Stearate, Lauryl Betaine, Sweet Wild Orange Oil, Fresh Blueberry Juice, Bergamot Oil, Olive Leaf Absolute, Cornstarch, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Perfume, *Limonene, *Linalool, *Citral, Colour 42090, Black Wax (Specerit Black Z).

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £11.75 for 240g.

Year Of Original Release: 2017.

Scent Family:
Berry Berry Christmas Naked Shower Gel

Berry Berry Christmas Shower Gel

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Lip Dip Lip Scrub

I seem to have amassed a rather large collection of lip scrubs as of late, which is worrying as I know they are best used fresh, and unlike a lot of Lush products, these are more likely to go off because of certain ingredients featured within them. Despite owning a good 6-7 different varieties, they're a product that tends to get shoved in the bottom of a bag and forgotten about. So I made it my mission to use these scrubs religiously over the next few months; firstly, so I can use a few up, and secondly so that I can really notice any difference they make to my lips. 

Like most people, when I first heard about the lip scrub, I was dubious that they would actually work. My mind was somewhat altered when I tried Bubblegum for the first time, and found that my lips did feel a lot smoother and velvety after use. But would Lip Dip do the same?

Much like Bubblegum, this scrub is another sugary delight that seems more like a pot of sherbet than a cosmetic. Lip Dip is more of a fizzy scrub, scented with sweet cranberries and fresh lemon to make it a sweet treat for the lips. It contains both cranberry oil, a natural source of omega oils which helps to keep your lips moisturised, and lemon oil which gives the product it's scent and is known for it's toning properties. Surprisingly, this scrub also features almond oil to soften and smoothen the lips - supposedly to give your 'smackers' an all-round amazing pampering session. 

What I love about all of Lush's lip scrubs, is their use of Fairtrade sugar, which not only makes this product slightly edible, but the sugar is finely granulated to gently scrub away rough skin. With other lip scrubs, my lips feel instantly soft and sexy, and I only have to add my favourite lip balm and my lips will stay smooth and moisturised for the rest of the day.

Unfortunately, when it comes to Lip Dip, I found that the consistency made it somewhat difficult to use. Unlike most other lip scrubs, this one is definitely more finer and 'wetter', meaning it's more difficult to get out of the tub and far trickier to apply to your lips. I found that this product seems to stick  together and doesn't break apart easily, meaning that when I was rubbing it across my lips, it would fall off and I'd lose clumps of the stuff on the floor. Furthermore, because of this, I found that I used up a lot more than that any of my other ones. This means that despite it's price tag being the same as the other scrubs, it actually works out a little more expensive. 

Secondly, I read somewhere that the scrub was meant to replicate the sensation of fizzing sherbet, tingling on your lips once you've applied it. Unfortunately, I didn't experience this at all, which was a shame. However, in it's defence, this scrub definitely smells like lemon sherbet, which brought me back to my youth and reminded me of the lemon sherbet sweets I used to eat as a child.

Overall, I wasn't overly impressed with this lip scrub, and it's definitely not one I'm going to rush out and purchase if Lush choose release it again. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sherbet, Sugar, Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis), Cranberry Seed Oil (Vaccinium macrocarpon), Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum), *Citral, *Limonene.

Vegan?: Yes.

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