Celebrate or not celebrate? That is a question that divides the Lush community time and time again. But if there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that the introduction of Bubbly Shower Gel last year, and the likes of Bucks Fizz this season, is a blessing worth celebrating, no matter what our noses are telling us.
Sharing its scent with the liquid gel, Bucks Fizz Body Conditioner and Bucks Fizz Naked Conditioner, Bubbly Naked Shower Gel is a product that I simply cannot imagine removing from my bathroom any time soon. While my trusted and very much loved liquid gel is also up there as being a staple, this season’s new addition has won over my heart, despite the differences it shares with its older sibling.
Firstly, it must be noted that the solid edition is perhaps a little less attractive to look at. While similar, there is something rather beautiful about the glistening orange colour you find in the bottle, and the naked edition simply lacks that magic a little. However, I’m not about to write off a product because of the way it looks.
Much like Plum Rain and Snow Fairy, there are some aspects of this naked edition that don’t replicate the beauty of the original gels. Despite this, all three of these offer characteristics that make them worth investing in alongside the originals, yet set them apart enough to offer you an alternative experience as well.
As with all of the naked gels, you treat them as you would a block of soap. Simply expose them to water and then massage them across your skin in a circular motion. Just like a normal shower gel, they will create a fragrant larger to clean and fragrance your skin with; yet unlike a soap, they will not leave your body feeling at all dry or parched.
Just like all of the products with this scent, Bubbly Naked Shower Gel smells like a strong, fruity concoction of oranges and limes - a combination that smells so fresh and juicy, that you’re senses will tingle with pleasure and your tastebuds will be tantalised enough to make you salivate upon first sniff.
The first difference I noticed between the naked and normal gels is that the former version was perhaps a little more zesty than the original bottled edition. The orange made a much stronger impression in the naked format and I really loved how extra sweet and citrusy it was. In a way, it reminded me of fruit sorbet ice creams, which just made it seem more refreshing and fruity in the shower.
Secondly, I loved how much more generous this version was in terms of how much lather it created. While the consistency was far thinner and not as moisturising as the normal gel, the naked version needed very little stimulation to heed an impressive amount of product to clean yourself with. I could easily wash my whole body with the amount of ‘foam’ I was able to create from a few seconds of massaging the bottle between my hands.
What I did find frustrating when using the naked gel was that the bottle tended to ‘bleed’ quite profusely, without much encouragement at all. I only needed to wet the bottle for a split second to create an abundance of watery lather across my hands and body. The fact that this shower gel offers a bright and very messy orange lather doesn’t make the situation any better. If you’re not careful when using this, you may find that you get splatters of Bubbly across every wall and surface within the near vicinity of your shower.
Moreover, even though I tried my best to keep this product out of the way of the running water, I found that it shrunk far quicker than any of the other naked shower gels that I have tried so far. For this reason, a 250g bottle of the original Bubbly would outlast this solid version easily, and I think that’s the only major aspect of the naked edition that lets itself down.
While I couldn’t detect much of a scent on my skin a matter of minutes after towelling myself down, I did find that my skin looked and felt really radiant. Especially after using this to wash my face as well, I found that it worked just as well as using a face mask, and my skin felt smooth to the touch afterwards.
Ultimately, this naked gel only lets itself down by being rather messy during and in between uses. I would highly suggest that you store this in a Lush massage tin when not in use, as it will drip a little before drying. Annoyingly, I found that I had to wipe down the window ledge and sides of bath after using this - as no matter how hard I tried not to make a mess, it’s inevitable with a gel that ebbs so much colour and liquid when in or around whatever.
However, I still think the magical citrusy smell of this naked shower gel, and just how softening it is, makes the mess worth it. If you love Bubbly Shower Gel, you will definitely be able to notice a difference here. Yet, there is something wonderful about the the subtle variations that makes this naked edition equally as enticing.
Quantitative Ingredients: Vine Leaf Infusion (Vitis Vinifera), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Propylene Glyco,l Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Sodium Stearate, Lauryl Betaine, Fragrance, Sweet Wild Orange Oil (Citrus sinensis), Lime Oil (Citrus aurantifolia), Fresh Grape Juice (Vitis vinifera) (Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Juice), *Citral, Citronellol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Orange 4.
Vegan?: Yes.
2017 Price: £9.75 each.
Year Of Original Release: 2017.
Having moved into my new flat two months ago, I have already established myself as the dictator of the bathroom. Within a matter of days I was already governing half of the ledge space with my cosmetics, and now I could probably boast that I take up more that eight per cent of the shelf. I don’t know whether my partner wants to laugh about the fact that he’s met possibly the cleanest person on the planet, or cry about the fact that he has to ask permission to put a single bottle of Shower Gel on HIS window ledge.
With so many solid versions of products released this year, there’s no wonder that I have a good eight to ten products on the go at any one time. Plum Rain Naked Shower Gel has been a prominent feature in my bathroom for a good six weeks now, yet it has taken me this long to finally sit down and write my thoughts on the product.
Released as a one-off a month ago in the Lush Kitchen, Plum Rain is no doubt one that’ll come back as a permanent in the coming months. As the company are clearly trying to move away from unnecessary packaging, this is just one of many naked versions that’ll probably be dominating the shelves in the foreseeable future. It’s only fitting then that it’s currently dominating the bathroom that I reside in on a daily basis.
One of the first aspects that impressed me about this naked version was how generous it was in the shower. While I have found that the naked gels are a mixed bag, the majority of the ones I have used have been a little more stubborn than their liquid counterparts. When it came to Plum Rain, I was surprised that this offered just as much of a lather as it’s liquid sibling.
While it has the same scent as the original shower gel, just like all of the other naked gels I have tried, this one is not a direct replica, and in fact that there is something rather lovely knowing that one of your favourite fragrances has multiple takes on it that you can enjoy.
As the same suggests, Plum Rain smells like fresh, fruity stewed plums - with an emphasis on the inclusion of the mandarin oils. Much like the Body Spray, there is something deliciously mouth-watering about this Naked Gel, and the fruitiness is perhaps what makes it so appetising. Unlike the original, I find that the osmanthus is a little more prominent here, and I can smell a gentle but crisp note of green in the mix, which gives this product an extra layer that doesn’t feature so much in the liquid gel at all.
What I especially loved about this naked version was that the hot water of the shower brings out a bright and very uplifting fruity component, which makes this the perfect accompaniment first thing in the morning - when you’re not feeling your best and would rather not by leaving the house to face the winter weather.
As with all of the naked gels so far, this one was just as moisturising as you’d expect a shower gel to be. It lathered up well across my skin - leaving it feeling radiant and smooth to the touch, and left a gentle scent that stayed for a brief whil on my body. While I know that these naked versions last longer when they’re not exposed to too much water, I have found that Plum Rain Naked Shower Gel lasts a long time, and doesn’t diminish as quickly as some of the other naked gels. In fact, after almost six weeks, I wouldn’t say that my is bottle has even shrunk to under half the size yet, making it great value for money.
Ultimately, this does offer something a little different from the original Gel, but this should be celebrated. The scent is unique in its sweet but slightly green-like notes; the naked version is likely to last longer than a 250g bottle, making it better value for money; and your skin is still blessed with the softness that you would expect a normal gel to offer. If only Lush would release a body lotion with his fragrance: my life would be very much complete if they did.
Quantitative Ingredients: ?
Vegan?: Yes.
2017 Price: £11.25 each.
Year Of Original Release: 2017.
Scent Family:Hedgewitch SoapPlum Rain Body SprayPlum Rain Naked Shower GelPlum Rain Shower GelPlum Snow Bubble Bar
By now, everyone reading this will no doubt be familiar with the concept of naked products, and will have probably formulated their own opinions on whether or not they appreciate Lush's idea of creating 'zero waste cosmetics' as a way to help the environment. Every single one of the solid versions that I have tried so far have worked well with me, and I definitely wouldn't be opposed to buying them again. However, not one has yet to replicate the regular version completely, although perhaps that is the beauty of using them.
Snow Fairy Naked Shower Gel would probably be the one, out of the entire selection of converted gels, to get the most amount of slack - if any were going to receive such bad press. With it being Lush's biggest selling seasonal Shower gel, and perhaps the one that also boasts the biggest sales across the entire year, any product that joins the family comes under a lot of scrutiny from die-hard fans.
Coming in at a centimetre or so taller than a 100g bottle, and sporting an almost identical colour to the liquid version, this naked gel already ticks the first box. The fact that the smell radiating from it is as sweet and playful as the original gel, tells me that Lush have been extra careful at insuring this one meets the standards of Snow Fairy lovers everywhere.
Using a basis of synthetic musk, Snow Fairy is an elusive scent - one that originally helped me to fall in love with the company to begin with; but also one that I moved away from when I discovered the impressive array of complex aromas that Lush also offer. Described as being like a combination of candy floss, raspberry bubblegum and vanilla milkshake, I would say that the former note it what is most present here.
To me, this naked shower gel encompasses a sweet, musky bubblegum smell, with a delicate and slightly cloudy vanilla note interlaced throughout. For fans who have tried a lot of Snow Fairy-scented products, it reminds me more of Candy Floss Dusting Powder than the shower gel it is trying to replicate; more powdery and vanillary like the Jelly Bath Bomb, than the recently released Body Spray.
What is impressive about this naked shower gel is that it lathers up just as well, if not better than the original liquid version. This is one of only two solid versions that have achieved this so far, and it's an impressive feat. The fact that it produces lather so easily, means that you don't need to hold this under the running water - which means that it will last you a lot longer. In fact, I have been using both this and a 100g bottle of Snow Fairy for the last 3-4 weeks, and have found that while the naked edition has barely shrunk, the bottled version is almost empty.
The lather Snow Fairy Naked Shower Gel creates is easy to massage across the body, and my skin felt clean and soft after using this. Unfortunately, I didn't find that the fragrance lingered around for long in the shower, and by the time I have towelled myself down, the scent had all but vanished. This is one reason why I still see the benefits of using the original gel.
When storing this, I found that it dried within a matter of minutes, so you don't need to worry about finding splodges of pink all over your bathroom the next day. It was also really easy to use in the shower and I didn't find that I dropped it at all. Some of Lush's naked gels can be a little slippery when in use, but this one was fine.
Overall, this is perhaps one of my favourite naked replicates and there are so many benefits for Lush fans to enjoy with this product. Having said that, I still prefer the sickly-sweet scent of the original gel, and the fact that I can smell that edition on my skin after my shower. At the end of the day, Snow Fairy fans should rejoice at the fact that both editions offer many benefits, and they now have two different experiences they can choose from for their winter showers.
Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Sodium Stearate, Lauryl Betaine, Perfume, Titanium Dioxide, Synthetic Musk, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate. Tin Oxide, *Limonene, Alpha-Isomethyl ionone, Colour 17200, Colour 45410, Colour 45380:3, Black Specerit Wax.
Vegan?: Yes.
2017 Price: £8.75 each.
Year Of Original Release: 2017.
Scent Family:
Best Washes Wash CardBubblegum Lip ScrubCandy Fluff BallisticCandy Fluff PerfumeCandy Fluff Dusting PowderFairy Dust Dusting PowderFather Christmas Bath BombFluffy Egg Bath BombGodmother SoapLush Mechanic Cold-Pressed SoapMagic Wand Bubble BarMelting Marshmallow Moment Bath OilMmmelting Marshmallow Bath MeltPink Easter Egg BallisticSnow Fairy Body ConditionerSnow Fairy Body SpraySnow Fairy Cold-Pressed SoapSnow Fairy Jelly Bath BombSnow Fairy Lip TintSnow Fairy Liquid PerfumeSnow Fairy Naked Body ConditionerSnow Fairy Naked Shower GelSnow Fairy Shower GelSnow Fairy Solid PerfumeSnow Fairy Sparkle JarSnow Fairy Sparkle Massage Bar
Almond, aniseed, Christmas, christmas 2017, cinnamon, coffee, Lime, limited edition, naked shower gels, orange, pepper, Seasonal, Shower, shower cream
While I love whenever Lush bring out a new product, this year's seasonal range has given me a whole of work to do - given that nearly every liquid product has been released as a solid edition as well. Although the reason behind this move is one that I support wholeheartedly, I cannot imagine my flat mates will be best pleased that I currently take twice as long in the shower, just so I can demo both versions at the same time.
Santa's Christmas is one of the first Solid Shower Creams that I ever experienced, so I had no idea what to expect from the bottle-shaped, soap-look-a-like that joined me in the shower one early September morning. While a part of me was excited at the prospect of a solid shower cream, I held slight reservations that it was going to be little more than a soap under a different guise. How wrong could I be?
Firstly, I need to make it clear that not one of Lush's solid shower gels/creams can be compared to a bar of soap. Whereas soaps dry my skin out and leave my hands with a distinctive parched feel about them afterwards, not one of these limited editions has that effect. These exclusives are a different ball game altogether, and it only took me a matter of seconds to realise this in the shower.
Despite my intrigue into how the product worked, I was slightly less enthused by the fragrance of Santa's Christmas. At the risk of repeating myself, I should state that the scent of this product is not in anyway bad at all. However, it's a smell that I would describe as being both nice or pleasant: two adjectives that doesn't exactly inspire the fireworks to ignite.
A new addition to the company's growing collection of Shower creams, Santa's Christmas is a sweet and creamy fruity concoction of ingredients - as warming as the vibrant shade of red that both the solid and its liquid counterpart sport. While neither editions will stain you or your bathroom, I would recommend that you play it safe with any splashes that may occur during your shower.
With as many ingredients as the liquid version, you would expect the solid cream to offer a strong, complex aroma to contend with. However, I found that the fragrance was disappointingly mild overall, and many of the ingredients didn't make an appearance at all. Featuring cinnamon, black pepper, aniseed and lime oils, as well as fresh orange juice, a coffee infusion and benzin resinoid, Santa's Christmas sounds like a powerhouse of ingredients. Having said that, it is only really the lime, orange and benzin resinoid.
While each of these don't impact the scent of this very much, they each have an important role that helps to make this seasonal special both moisturising and slightly clarifying on the skin as well. From the bottle, you can first smell the lime, orange and benzin resinoid. As many have said before me, this shower gel smells like slightly flat vanilla cola: it's both creamy and fruity, and it's perhaps slightly surprising that there isn't any tonka or vanilla absolute present in the ingredients list, to suggest the sweetness.
There is a very subtle shout out to the cinnamon infusion, but I feel as if it's only really noticeable because you're aware that it features in the ingredients list to begin with. I couldn't detect either the aniseed oil or the coffee infusion at all. Having said that, my skin did feel crisp and refreshed after using this, and I believe it is the latter ingredient that helps to clarify the skin and bring out that radiance and that vibrancy.
Unlike other shower creams, this one is quite possibly the most difficult to extract from the bottle. It is almost as thick as one of Lush's buttercreams, and so when trying to remove it from the bottle it took a lot of effort to do so. Frustrated by this, I ended up removing the black lid altogether and squeezing it out through the neck of the bottle itself.
As I was expecting, it wasn't particularly generous when lathering up, and I found that I had to use more than a regular gel to clean my whole body. Furthermore, the cream did have a red tinge to it that worried me a little to begin with, as I was expecting to find splashes of colour on my skin after I had rinsed the lather away. Luckily, there was no staining afterwards, although I did find that my sponge was slightly tarnished by the colour.
Having said that, Santa's Christmas did prove to be just as moisturising as you'd expect a shower cream to be, and this makes it a great winter product to help keep the skin in tip-top condition in the harsher conditions. In
When in comparison with the solid edition, I found that this version had a better fragrance - in that the fruitiness and the vanilla-like notes were more pronounced and more noticeable. In the shower, this version offered a stronger smell overall and I could still detect this on my skin over an hour after I had towelled myself down.
Both editions were equally moisturising and I was impressed by how soft and smooth my skin felt after using each of them. However, I found that the solid edition was easier to use as it produced more of a foam-like lather, so I was able to use less overall and make the product last longer than the bottled version.
Overall, I'll be honest and say that I would have probably rated this shower cream higher if the scent had impressed me more than it did. Don't get me wrong, it is a lovely smell, but not one with the complexity of originality that I would expect from a Lush fragrance. Having said this, I can envisage that this will be very popular product this Christmas, and it wouldn't surprise me if it made an appearance next year as well.
Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Cinnamon Infusion, Coffee Infusion, Sodium Stearate, Lauryl Betaine, Perfume, Almond Oil, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Lime Oil, Aniseed Oil, Black Pepper Oil, Benzoin Resinoid, Fresh Lime Juice, Fresh Orange Juice, Titanium Dioxide, *Citral, *Limonene, Colour 16035, Colour 73360, Black Specerit Wax.
Vegan?: Yes.
2017 Price: £10.75 each.
Year Of Original Release: 2017.
Scent Family:Santa Baby Lip TintSanta Baby Naked Lip TintSanta's Christmas Naked Shower CreamSanta's Christmas Shower Cream
Bergamot oil, Blueberries, Christmas, christmas 2017, cranberry, limited edition, naked, naked shower gels, orange, Seasonal, Shower, 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 GelBerry Berry Christmas Shower Gel
Much like Plum Rain and Snow Fairy, there are some aspects of this naked edition that don’t replicate the beauty of the original gels. Despite this, all three of these offer characteristics that make them worth investing in alongside the originals, yet set them apart enough to offer you an alternative experience as well.
What I did find frustrating when using the naked gel was that the bottle tended to ‘bleed’ quite profusely, without much encouragement at all. I only needed to wet the bottle for a split second to create an abundance of watery lather across my hands and body. The fact that this shower gel offers a bright and very messy orange lather doesn’t make the situation any better. If you’re not careful when using this, you may find that you get splatters of Bubbly across every wall and surface within the near vicinity of your shower. 
