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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Cereology Soap

As someone who places soap far down my list of favourite things from Lush, it's amazing just how many pieces I currently own in my collection. It's also impressive how excitable I get when an old release makes an appearance for the first time, despite knowing that it'll probably only get a handful of uses before being discarded as my focus moves onto something else.

Cereology Soap arrived as a surprise announcement one morning, when I was browsing the website for a bit of pre-work retail therapy. Without reading the description or doing any research on the product prior to my purchase, I secured two pieces with little hesitation and didn't think anything more about it until the soap arrived through my front door.

While I paid little attention to the ingredients list, a quick scan of the soap when it was on the website painted a picture in my head of what this soap was going to smell like. Imagine my surprise when it arrived and I found that it was nothing like I had envisaged it would be. This might have dampened my excitement just a little, if it wasn't for the fact that the soap smelt far better than I had bargained for. 

'Nothing is as it seems' is a phrase that Lush use to describe Cereology Soap, and I couldn't agree more. While the ingredients list suggests something very dry-smelling and green, the reality is very far removed from this. Much like the study of crop circles that this soap is named after, the reference to the unworldly phenomenon stretches far beyond the physical design of this soap.

Featuring a whole array of different ingredients, it is the wheatgrass, wheatgerm and vanilla absolute that make initial contact with your nose. From the start, the former ingredients create a dry, musty and slightly nutty aroma - one that reminds me of the hazy scent you get when dry, weathered haystacks are dishevelled a little from a passing breeze.

Alongside this, the vanilla adds a sugary, almost syrup-like layer that rounds these elements together. The neroli adds a very subtle note of sweet, green honey that gives the vanilla a little more depth, and the lavender emerges itself into the background, rounding the soap off with gentle herbal notes that you might almost miss if you're not looking for them.

There is something about the fragrance of this soap that I find so rich and beautiful, and I love how warming it smells on the skin, while still remaining gentle and non evasive. This is not in any way a sickly scent - this is for those who want something natural with a little added sweetness thrown in for good measure. I have read that people refer to the fragrance of this soap as being like green beans combined with sugar. However, Cereology has far more to offer than that description, and I feel I would be doing it a disservice if I left it at that. 

Alongside the smell, this soap is incredible for your skin, and you can see and feel the results after just one use. Wheat germ is known for being really rich in Vitamin E, which helps to repair and heal damaged skin and scarring; soften out creases and reduce the appearance of stretch marks; support the skin and allow it to look and feel far more youthful and radiant.

I found that this was the perfect soap for me to use in the evening, as my skin felt instantly rejuvenated and I felt as if the product rehydrated my weathered skin following a long day at work. While I haven't tested out my theory yet, I would hazard a guess that Cereology would make a great spring/summer soap as it is so light on the skin and would really compliment the warmer weather.   

Under the water, this soap was incredibly easy to lather up - producing a thick, fluffy foam to massage across the skin. It was most easiest to stimulate between my hands and then transfer this onto my body to wash myself with. While I didn't give it much of an opportunity to do so, I feel as if this soap would shrink quite quickly if kept under the water for a long period of time. For this reason, I made sure that I patted the soap down after each use, and found that a 100g bar could easily last 3-4 months with daly usage. 

Ultimately, this is a soap that I had very little expectations for - yet one that won me over fairly quickly and established itself as a permanent feature of my bathroom. The soap was easy to use, generous with its scent and its lather, and stayed on my skin long enough for a work colleague to make a comment about my 'perfume' some two hours later. While perhaps the best format for Cereology, I would definitely be interested in trying it out in other formats, and I would buy this again if it made another appearance in the Lush Kitchen.   

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Glycerine, Wheatgerm, Sodium Stearate, Perfume, Fresh Wheatgrass, Organic Wheatgerm Oil, Lavender Oil, Tonka Absolute, Vanilla Absolute, Neroli Oil, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, *Limonene, *Coumarin, Chlorophyllin.

2017 Price: £4.95 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2005.

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Igloo Soap

It was only when I was having a sort out of my Lush collection the other day, that I discovered that I had yet to try (or indeed review) one of the brand new soaps in this year's seasonal range. Surprisingly, this was also one of the products I was privy to seeing during my factory tour earlier in the year, so I felt it only fair that I should host a shower for the sole purpose of trying this out for the first time. 

Perhaps the one to receive the least amount of publicity, Igloo Soap is as much an experience as it is a cosmetic. There is something about its fragrance that reminds me of Christmas, without relying on the typical spicy, cinnamon smells to do so. While it may not be a staple in every household, this soap is modelled on a product that features in many sweet bowls over the festive period, and is something that is often overlooked when people discuss their favourite Christmas foods.  

Turkish Delight is a family of confections that are created using a gently flavoured, glycerine base. The sweets are often then divided into small cubes and dusted with something like icing sugar to prevent them from congealing together. While most people are only familiar with one variety, the name actually encompasses a whole variety of sweets, featuring ingredients such as chopped dates, pistachios, and hazelnuts. Rosewater, lemon and orange are three of the most popular variations around, and it is usually the former two that are featured in the aisles of your local supermarket during the Christmas period.

As the 'difficult vegan', Turkish Delight was something that my family would always have an abundance of around Christmas time. I have fond memories of the chocolate bowl being passed around the room, while I snacked on the delicate box of goodies my parents had gone out their way to buy for me especially. For this reason, the smell, texture and taste pertains a certain level of nostalgia for me, and I was hoping that Igloo Soap would be able to mimic this.   

Interestingly, it is not just the scent of this product that is modelled on these exquisite sweets - the design itself also plays homage with its array of different coloured pieces, stacked on top of each other, and the fact that it has an almost sugary outer consistency in line with the edible versions.

Containing rose absolute and rose oil, it's not surprising that this is the first and indeed the strongest note on offer by the soap. However, neither of these components are in any way overpowering. Instead, they provide Igloo with a very sweet and delicate rose aroma that is identical to what you'd expect Turkish Delight to smell like.

Alongside this is the Sicilian lemon oil, which wraps itself around these floral components to offer a light, fruity and rather uplifting second layer. In a small way, this smell of this does remind me of a far more milder Rose Jam, albeit with the addition of a little more powdery sweetness. While I'm not normally one for gentle smells, it's a credit to Lush for creating an aroma very much like the sweet, and with many interesting layers, yet one that is so subtle, you would barely detect its smell in a Lush shop.

Foaming up with ease, this product is very generous when in contact with water, and it only takes a matter of seconds before you have an abundance of lather in which to clean yourself with. I was also rather impressed to find that after a couple of weeks of using this daily, the block hadn't changed very much at all, and I think it is perhaps one of the longer-lasting seasonal soaps from this years range.

For those who read my blog regularly, you'll know that my skin has an aversion to most soaps - in that I have found very few that don't dry out my skin and leave it feeling parched. For this reason, I was surprised to find that this soap left my skin feeling well-nourished within a matter of seconds. Furthermore, I was fascinated to discover that Igloo left my hands feeling as if there was a thick blanket of moisture coating them for a good while after I had dried them off. This seemed to dramatically improve the condition of my skin and the weathered areas between my fingers all but vanished from the very first use.

Although I didn't notice such an obvious difference with the rest of my body, I found that I didn't need to always use a body lotion after showering with this. In addition, there were times when I refrained from using a perfume afterwards, and was still able to detect the smell of this very gently on my skin.

While I don't see myself buying too much more of this to see me through until next year, I will continue to use my current chunk on an almost daily basis, using it more as a hand wash than a full body clean. I have definitely enjoyed experiencing this and do think it replicates the confectionary it is influenced by really well. With budgets being cut this Christmas, this will work as a less gluttonous replacement for my well-loved confectionary. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Carrageenan Extract in Glycerine, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Sorbitol, Fresh Lemon Juice, Water, Perfume, *Limonene, Sicilian Lemon Oil, Rose Absolute, Rose Oil, Glycerine, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Bicarbonate, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Benzyl Alcohol, *Citral, Citronellol, Geraniol, *Linalool, Colour 45350, Colour 45410, Colour 14700, Colour 42090, Colour 17200.

Vegan?: Yes.

2016 Price: £4.25 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2016.

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Igloo Soap

It was only when I was having a sort out of my Lush collection the other day, that I discovered that I had yet to try (or indeed review) one of the brand new soaps in this year's seasonal range. Surprisingly, this was also one of the products I was privy to seeing during my factory tour earlier in the year, so I felt it only fair that I should host a shower for the sole purpose of trying this out for the first time. 

Perhaps the one to receive the least amount of publicity, Igloo Soap is as much an experience as it is a cosmetic. There is something about its fragrance that reminds me of Christmas, without relying on the typical spicy, cinnamon smells to do so. While it may not be a staple in every household, this soap is modelled on a product that features in many sweet bowls over the festive period, and is something that is often overlooked when people discuss their favourite Christmas foods.  

Turkish Delight is a family of confections that are created using a gently flavoured, glycerine base. The sweets are often then divided into small cubes and dusted with something like icing sugar to prevent them from congealing together. While most people are only familiar with one variety, the name actually encompasses a whole variety of sweets, featuring ingredients such as chopped dates, pistachios, and hazelnuts. Rosewater, lemon and orange are three of the most popular variations around, and it is usually the former two that are featured in the aisles of your local supermarket during the Christmas period.

As the 'difficult vegan', Turkish Delight was something that my family would always have an abundance of around Christmas time. I have fond memories of the chocolate bowl being passed around the room, while I snacked on the delicate box of goodies my parents had gone out their way to buy for me especially. For this reason, the smell, texture and taste pertains a certain level of nostalgia for me, and I was hoping that Igloo Soap would be able to mimic this.   

Interestingly, it is not just the scent of this product that is modelled on these exquisite sweets - the design itself also plays homage with its array of different coloured pieces, stacked on top of each other, and the fact that it has an almost sugary outer consistency in line with the edible versions.

Containing rose absolute and rose oil, it's not surprising that this is the first and indeed the strongest note on offer by the soap. However, neither of these components are in any way overpowering. Instead, they provide Igloo with a very sweet and delicate rose aroma that is identical to what you'd expect Turkish Delight to smell like.

Alongside this is the Sicilian lemon oil, which wraps itself around these floral components to offer a light, fruity and rather uplifting second layer. In a small way, this smell of this does remind me of a far more milder Rose Jam, albeit with the addition of a little more powdery sweetness. While I'm not normally one for gentle smells, it's a credit to Lush for creating an aroma very much like the sweet, and with many interesting layers, yet one that is so subtle, you would barely detect its smell in a Lush shop.

Foaming up with ease, this product is very generous when in contact with water, and it only takes a matter of seconds before you have an abundance of lather in which to clean yourself with. I was also rather impressed to find that after a couple of weeks of using this daily, the block hadn't changed very much at all, and I think it is perhaps one of the longer-lasting seasonal soaps from this years range.

For those who read my blog regularly, you'll know that my skin has an aversion to most soaps - in that I have found very few that don't dry out my skin and leave it feeling parched. For this reason, I was surprised to find that this soap left my skin feeling well-nourished within a matter of seconds. Furthermore, I was fascinated to discover that Igloo left my hands feeling as if there was a thick blanket of moisture coating them for a good while after I had dried them off. This seemed to dramatically improve the condition of my skin and the weathered areas between my fingers all but vanished from the very first use.

Although I didn't notice such an obvious difference with the rest of my body, I found that I didn't need to always use a body lotion after showering with this. In addition, there were times when I refrained from using a perfume afterwards, and was still able to detect the smell of this very gently on my skin.

While I don't see myself buying too much more of this to see me through until next year, I will continue to use my current chunk on an almost daily basis, using it more as a hand wash than a full body clean. I have definitely enjoyed experiencing this and do think it replicates the confectionary it is influenced by really well. With budgets being cut this Christmas, this will work as a less gluttonous replacement for my well-loved confectionary. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Carrageenan Extract in Glycerine, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Sorbitol, Fresh Lemon Juice, Water, Perfume, *Limonene, Sicilian Lemon Oil, Rose Absolute, Rose Oil, Glycerine, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Bicarbonate, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Benzyl Alcohol, *Citral, Citronellol, Geraniol, *Linalool, Colour 45350, Colour 45410, Colour 14700, Colour 42090, Colour 17200.

Vegan?: Yes.

2016 Price: £4.25 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2016.

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You Wash My Back Soap

If there's one thing I don't like about soap, it's when it smells like soap. As strange a statement as that is, there is a reason why I have turned to a company like Lush to alter my perception of a product that has been manufactured for the last 5000 years. 

Before I became involved with the company, I thought soap meant slabs of colourless stuff that smelt disgusting and left your skin feeling parched and dry. Lush changed all of this and I couldn't be more grateful to discover the magical world of Sandstone, Oh La La and Snowcake. So to me, You Wash My Back is a step backwards.

Shapes like a yin yang, this soap is circular in design with two halves coloured pink and green. To look at, it's quite an attractive soap. Unfortunately, I discovered a design flaw almost immediately with this product - I only had to press it gently against my skin for it to break in half - an issue that a lot of other Lush fans have commented on as well. 

I recognise the fact that this soap was designed to be shared with a partner - half for them to wash your back, half for you to wash theirs. The problem I found with this is that the pieces you are left with are then very fiddly to use and it was trickier to clean myself with than with other, more sturdier blocks. 

Sharing it's scent with the White Wedding Ballistic, this soap boasts as array of different floral elements - rose, bergamot, ylang ylang and jasmine. I was expecting a very uplifting, musky and rather sophisticated multi-layered aroma. What I discovered however, is a combination that mimics those cheap 30p bars of soap you get from a supermarket. How Lush have managed to combine such beautiful fragrances and end up with what I detected, is rather disappointing. 

It wouldn't be so bad if the fragrance was quite a subtle scent, as I can see this being a lovely hand soap for those who like more mature smells. Unfortunately, this is a very poignant smell and one that follows you around the room. It's not something I was to be bathing in. 

In it's defence, the soap does lather up rather well in the shower and the foam it dispels is really moisturising on the skin - something which cheaper soaps cannot boast. Furthermore, if you love the scent, you'll be pleased to learn that it lingers on your skin for a long time after you've left the shower. 

However, this is not a soap I would really want 'hanging around' and I don't even think I'd want to use it as a hand wash. For this reason, it's one I'd ever consider buying again. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Rapeseed Oil; Sunflower Oil; Coconut Oil (Brassica napus; Helianthus annuus; Cocus nucifera), Sodium Coco-Sulfate, Soya Milk (Glycine soja), Sodium Hydroxide, Perfume, Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Jasmine Absolute (Jaminum officinale), Rose Oil (Rosa damascene), Bergamot Oil (Citrus bergamia), Glycerine, Sodium Chloride, Benzly Salicylate, Eugenol, Geraniol, Benzyl Benzoate, Citronellol, Farnesol, Limonene, Linalool, Hydroxcitronellal, Titanium Dioxide, Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Colour 45410, Colour 42090.

Vegan?: Yes.

2016 Price: ?

Year Of Original Release: ?

Scent Family:
White Wedding Ballistic
You Wash My Back Soap

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You Wash My Back Soap

If there's one thing I don't like about soap, it's when it smells like soap. As strange a statement as that is, there is a reason why I have turned to a company like Lush to alter my perception of a product that has been manufactured for the last 5000 years. 

Before I became involved with the company, I thought soap meant slabs of colourless stuff that smelt disgusting and left your skin feeling parched and dry. Lush changed all of this and I couldn't be more grateful to discover the magical world of Sandstone, Oh La La and Snowcake. So to me, You Wash My Back is a step backwards.

Shapes like a yin yang, this soap is circular in design with two halves coloured pink and green. To look at, it's quite an attractive soap. Unfortunately, I discovered a design flaw almost immediately with this product - I only had to press it gently against my skin for it to break in half - an issue that a lot of other Lush fans have commented on as well. 

I recognise the fact that this soap was designed to be shared with a partner - half for them to wash your back, half for you to wash theirs. The problem I found with this is that the pieces you are left with are then very fiddly to use and it was trickier to clean myself with than with other, more sturdier blocks. 

Sharing it's scent with the White Wedding Ballistic, this soap boasts as array of different floral elements - rose, bergamot, ylang ylang and jasmine. I was expecting a very uplifting, musky and rather sophisticated multi-layered aroma. What I discovered however, is a combination that mimics those cheap 30p bars of soap you get from a supermarket. How Lush have managed to combine such beautiful fragrances and end up with what I detected, is rather disappointing. 

It wouldn't be so bad if the fragrance was quite a subtle scent, as I can see this being a lovely hand soap for those who like more mature smells. Unfortunately, this is a very poignant smell and one that follows you around the room. It's not something I was to be bathing in. 

In it's defence, the soap does lather up rather well in the shower and the foam it dispels is really moisturising on the skin - something which cheaper soaps cannot boast. Furthermore, if you love the scent, you'll be pleased to learn that it lingers on your skin for a long time after you've left the shower. 

However, this is not a soap I would really want 'hanging around' and I don't even think I'd want to use it as a hand wash. For this reason, it's one I'd ever consider buying again. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Rapeseed Oil; Sunflower Oil; Coconut Oil (Brassica napus; Helianthus annuus; Cocus nucifera), Sodium Coco-Sulfate, Soya Milk (Glycine soja), Sodium Hydroxide, Perfume, Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Jasmine Absolute (Jaminum officinale), Rose Oil (Rosa damascene), Bergamot Oil (Citrus bergamia), Glycerine, Sodium Chloride, Benzly Salicylate, Eugenol, Geraniol, Benzyl Benzoate, Citronellol, Farnesol, Limonene, Linalool, Hydroxcitronellal, Titanium Dioxide, Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Colour 45410, Colour 42090.

Vegan?: Yes.

2016 Price: ?

Year Of Original Release: ?

Scent Family:
White Wedding Ballistic
You Wash My Back Soap

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Shooting Stars Soap

While my skin has always reacted in a less than desirable way to almost every soap that Lush have ever produced, I have recently been making a conscious effort to attempt different combinations in the hope that I can utilise the mass of soaps that I have accumulated over the years. While I would never expect them to live up to that of a shower gel or jelly, I'm beginning to recognise that when paired with a good body lotion, conditioner or massage bar, you can get that squeaky clean feeling from the soap while also enjoying skin that is plump, soft and well-moisturised.

When pictures of Shooting Stars first graced social media, I was immediately bowled over by its design - a stunning pastel purple with multicoloured stars etched across the surface; a sprinkle of lustre finishing off what is easily one of Lush's most beautiful seasonal soaps to date. However, I was also reminded that it was just a soap and the likelihood was that I wouldn't be able to use it too often for fear of it drying out my skin. Then I remembered that I had my new system in place to counteract this problem, and it was one of the first new products that I gravitated towards when I went into the Oxford Street store on release day.


Offering a brand new fragrance, this soap smells as fruity and as vibrant as you would imagine a product of this calibre to smell like. Containing both lime and lemon oil, as well as a rare appearance of the ingredient starfruit purée, this soap is a bright, zesty experience to wake you up first thing in the morning. Both the lime and lemon give this soap a spritzy smell not unlike Whoosh Shower Jelly, albeit lighter and a little more lemon orientated. The starfruit appears to thicken the aroma even further so you're left with a strong but equally gentle blend of citrusy notes. 

My first impressions were that this smells very similar to the green Starburst sweet, although I should state that I found the smell a lot stronger than what the confectionary offers outside its wrapper, and the heat of the water only intensified this even further in the shower.

Not only is this a soap that you want to marvel at because of its beauty, it also happens to be a product that works exceptionally well. In the shower, this fruity beauty lathers up with ease - producing a handful of soft, fragrant suds to clean yourself well. While some soaps need to be massaged between your palms to work effectively, this is one soap that creates lather under pressure as well as when you glide the bar over your skin. For these reasons, I found that I didn't need to spend a long time rubbing the soap between my hands, so my hands didn't feel parched or dry after using this. 

The inclusion of all of the citrus oils mentioned above, as well as bergamot oil, also ensures that your skin feels refreshed and vibrant, and I definitely noticed a natural shine to my skin after sharing the shower with Shooting Stars. Furthermore, I was delighted to discover that the scent does linger for a short while after exiting the bathroom.

While a soap could never replace a shower gel on a regular basis, I have really enjoyed using this seasonal release over the past few days. It is well suited as a 'wake me up' first thing in the morning, especially before greeting those icy-cold, crisp winter chills during my morning commute. It is also a great soap to keep with you for the warmer months, where the combination of citrusy oils will bring out the radiance of your skin and match with the heat of the sun to bring you an uplifting and refreshing experience.

Overall, this is a lovely new addition to the Lush soap family. It's nothing that'll blow your socks away and it's certainly not a very complex fragrance at all. However, if you enjoy fruity, zesty, citrusy aromas, this will be one that you'll want to try before the season is over and I hope that one day we'll see other products sharing the same scent. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Water, Glycerine, Rapeseed Oil, Coconut Oil, Sorbitol, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Fragrance, Lime Oil, Bergamot Oil, Sicilian Lemon Oil, Star Fruit Puree, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, Citric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Tin Oxide, Calcium Sodium Boroalicate, Citral, Limonene, Linalool, Citronellol, Radiant Gold, Snowflake, Soft Green And Soft Pink Glitter Lustre.

Vegan?: Yes.

2016 Price: £3.50 for 100g. 

Year Of Original Release: 2016.

Read More

Shooting Stars Soap

While my skin has always reacted in a less than desirable way to almost every soap that Lush have ever produced, I have recently been making a conscious effort to attempt different combinations in the hope that I can utilise the mass of soaps that I have accumulated over the years. While I would never expect them to live up to that of a shower gel or jelly, I'm beginning to recognise that when paired with a good body lotion, conditioner or massage bar, you can get that squeaky clean feeling from the soap while also enjoying skin that is plump, soft and well-moisturised.

When pictures of Shooting Stars first graced social media, I was immediately bowled over by its design - a stunning pastel purple with multicoloured stars etched across the surface; a sprinkle of lustre finishing off what is easily one of Lush's most beautiful seasonal soaps to date. However, I was also reminded that it was just a soap and the likelihood was that I wouldn't be able to use it too often for fear of it drying out my skin. Then I remembered that I had my new system in place to counteract this problem, and it was one of the first new products that I gravitated towards when I went into the Oxford Street store on release day.


Offering a brand new fragrance, this soap smells as fruity and as vibrant as you would imagine a product of this calibre to smell like. Containing both lime and lemon oil, as well as a rare appearance of the ingredient starfruit purée, this soap is a bright, zesty experience to wake you up first thing in the morning. Both the lime and lemon give this soap a spritzy smell not unlike Whoosh Shower Jelly, albeit lighter and a little more lemon orientated. The starfruit appears to thicken the aroma even further so you're left with a strong but equally gentle blend of citrusy notes. 

My first impressions were that this smells very similar to the green Starburst sweet, although I should state that I found the smell a lot stronger than what the confectionary offers outside its wrapper, and the heat of the water only intensified this even further in the shower.

Not only is this a soap that you want to marvel at because of its beauty, it also happens to be a product that works exceptionally well. In the shower, this fruity beauty lathers up with ease - producing a handful of soft, fragrant suds to clean yourself well. While some soaps need to be massaged between your palms to work effectively, this is one soap that creates lather under pressure as well as when you glide the bar over your skin. For these reasons, I found that I didn't need to spend a long time rubbing the soap between my hands, so my hands didn't feel parched or dry after using this. 

The inclusion of all of the citrus oils mentioned above, as well as bergamot oil, also ensures that your skin feels refreshed and vibrant, and I definitely noticed a natural shine to my skin after sharing the shower with Shooting Stars. Furthermore, I was delighted to discover that the scent does linger for a short while after exiting the bathroom.

While a soap could never replace a shower gel on a regular basis, I have really enjoyed using this seasonal release over the past few days. It is well suited as a 'wake me up' first thing in the morning, especially before greeting those icy-cold, crisp winter chills during my morning commute. It is also a great soap to keep with you for the warmer months, where the combination of citrusy oils will bring out the radiance of your skin and match with the heat of the sun to bring you an uplifting and refreshing experience.

Overall, this is a lovely new addition to the Lush soap family. It's nothing that'll blow your socks away and it's certainly not a very complex fragrance at all. However, if you enjoy fruity, zesty, citrusy aromas, this will be one that you'll want to try before the season is over and I hope that one day we'll see other products sharing the same scent. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Water, Glycerine, Rapeseed Oil, Coconut Oil, Sorbitol, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Fragrance, Lime Oil, Bergamot Oil, Sicilian Lemon Oil, Star Fruit Puree, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, Citric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Tin Oxide, Calcium Sodium Boroalicate, Citral, Limonene, Linalool, Citronellol, Radiant Gold, Snowflake, Soft Green And Soft Pink Glitter Lustre.

Vegan?: Yes.

2016 Price: £3.50 for 100g. 

Year Of Original Release: 2016.

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Hand Of Friendship Soap

You cannot fault the idea behind this soap release - a product equipped with a message, and one where 100% of the profits made from selling the soap goes towards an amazing cause. With an increasing number of refugees arriving in North America on a daily basis, Lush are using their Friendship Fund, and the many organisations associated with it, to both raise awareness of the plight of these families, and to generate the financial means by which to provide the relief. 

A limited edition release, Hand Of Friendship Soap didn't exactly have to be the most attractive soap in order to convince me to invest - the fact that it's a Lush product is enough as it is; the fact that it's backing an ethical cause more or less sealed the deal. However, it happens to sport an amazing design on top of all of this, and this makes it a clear winner in my eyes.

Firstly, I was impressed when I received the soap and discovered that it shared its aroma with the very unique Cyanide Pill Bath Bomb. As this ballistic is exclusive to Oxford Street and the soap is a US-only release, it's unfortunate that most people will only be able to obtain one of the two products - meaning that this fact would have probably remained hidden for a long while.

Mirroring the almond, cedarwood, rosewood and lemon oil that features in the bomb, this soap is a strange collaboration of cherry and almond - a combination that smells like a bundt cake or an exquisite fruity liqueur. Hand Of Friendship has an equal layer of both cherry and a creamy, marzipan-esque almond, that makes it far tamer than the likes of Happy Blooming Shower Jelly and Bath Melt.

If you really spend some time with this product, you can make out the gentle cloudiness of the rosewood, and the subtle sweetness of the lemon oil. However, this is one of those fragrances that has been combined really well, and it is difficult picking out the different elements, unless you're really trying to.

With a base made from both coconut and rapeseed oil, this soap is also incredibly soft on the skin. While it's definitely not the easiest to lather up, once it does, you can feel how soft and oily the foam is. I actually found it a lot more effective to stimulate the foam in the palm of my hands and then distribute it across the skin to clean myself with.

Upon rinsing, I found that not only did the scent linger fairly prominently on my body, but my skin did feel really clean and smooth, and it almost felt as if my skin was glowing. Unfortunately, like most of the soaps from Lush, I still found that my skin did feel fairly taut after use, and definitely not as moisturised as a shower gel would leave it.

Having said that, I have come to recognise and understand that my skin is clearly not suited to soaps at all. So rather than focus on the negative aspects of this product, I'm going to focus on the fact that design, scent and productivity wise, Hand Of Friendship is a great product, and one that I would recommend that you seek out if you can.

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Glycerine, Rapeseed Oil; Coconut Oil (Brassica napus; Cocos nucifera), Sorbitol, Fragrance, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Stearate, Titanium Dioxide, Almond Essential Oil (Prunus Amygdalus amara), Rosewood Oil (Aniba rosaeodora), Cedarwood Oil (Juniperus virginiana), Sicilian Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum), Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, *Citronellol, *Coumarin, *Eugenol, *Farnesol, *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Sodium Chloride, Mica, Sodium Hydroxide, EDTA, Tetrasodium Editronate, Iron Oxides, Red 4, Red 28, Red 33. 

Vegan?: Yes.

2016 Price: $5.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2016.

Scent Family: 

Cyanide Bath Ballistic

Cyanide Liquid Perfume

Hand Of Friendship

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