Lord of Misrule Shower Cream - Lush Halloween 2015

Ingredients: Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Patchouli and Peppercorn infusion, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Stearic Acid, Lauryl Betaine, Propylene Glycol, Perfume, Lactic Acid, Organic Wheatgerm Oil, Black Pepper Oil, Patchouli Oil, Fair Trade Vanilla Absolute, Titanium Dioxide, Limonene, Linalool, Snowflake Lustre, Colour 42090, Colour 47005 and Methylparaben

Vegan 

Sharing it's scent with the bath bomb of the same name, LoM shower cream has been a long desired for product of Lush fans worldwide. Originally released as part of the Oxford Street Collection, this was brought to all stores for Halloween. 

It is a vivid bright green with snowflake lustre which is completely different from anything that Lush has produced before. Featuring the same main ingredients as the bath bomb, the shower cream has an added ingredient, Wheatgerm Oil, that promotes skin cell formation, and is great for nourishing and rejuvenating dry, mature, dehydrated skin, and reducing scars, stretch marks, sunburns, and damaged skin. It has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects and Wheatgerm Oil is a high enriched source of vitamin E, A, D, Proteins, Lecithin, and Squalene. Wheatgerm Oil is great applied externally for skin irritations such as roughness, cracking and chaffing making it incredibly effective in the shower cream. 

I found that it was quite a thin liquid and quite oily but it still lathered up well and created a large amount of suds when used with a shower puff and my skin felt incredibly well moisturised and the fragrance lasted well into the next day and I received quite a few compliments on its unique perfume. 
The shower cream has been released in 4 different sizes so that all fans can stock up on it before Halloween is over and can only be found in Oxford Street!

5*/5*
£4.95 - 100g 
£9.75 - 250g 
£16.50 - 500g
£27.95 - 1kg 

Nightwing Shower Jelly - Lush Halloween 2015

Ingredients: Glycerine, Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Propylene Glycol, Fresh Lime and Aloe Vera Decoction, Carra Geenan Extract, Lime Oil, Canob Syrup, Citral, Limonene, Colour 17200, Colour 42090 and Colour 77266.

Vegan 

Throughout my Lush journey, I have fallen in love with the versatility of the shower jellies and so was very excited when it was announced that there would be a new one for Halloween. 

Nightwing, as a friend of mine informs me, is the hero that the original Robin became after he left being partners with Batman and moved to the city of Bludhaven and so it is easy to see where Lush have drawn inspiration from. As a tribute to the Batman theme and the holiday that it has been released for, it is jet black and in the shape of a bat. 

It has a very beautiful aroma and there was a lot of fan speculation that it would have the scent of Calacas but this was proved to be wrong and although they do have a very similar scent, the only way I can describe the difference is that Calacas is the fruit pastille/ jelly bean and Nightwing is the wine gum which offers a slightly more sophisticated citrus scent. 

Unfortunately, although it is extremely potent in the tub, I found that in the shower and after you've toweled off, the scent is barely there and so it is actually one of the weakest shower jelly I've had from lush. Also due to the design, it would probably be easier to cut it up before you use it in the shower as it gets even more slippery and slimey than the usual shower jellies, thus making it hard to use on yourself without it slipping out of your hands. I also found that when I put a sliver on my shower puff, it didn't create that many suds and they were an unattractive grey colour.

I think that this is a very good novelty product from Lush but I won't be stocking up on it to see my through the year. I also found that I had to rinse some excess liquid out of my tub as it leaked in my bag which is something that I've found has happened quite a few times with the Lush shower jellies at the moment. 

2*/5* 

£3.95 for 95g 

Sparkly Pumpkin Bubble Bar - Halloween 2015

Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar, Sodium Lauryl Betaine, Cornflour, Perfume, Juniperberry Oil, Lime Oil, Grapefruit Oil, Citral, Geraniol, Citronellol, Limonene, Linalool, Colour 15510, Colour 45380:3, Gold Glimmer Lustre and a Cinammon Stick

Vegan 

I was initially worried that this bubble bar would have the scent that it's name suggests but thankfully this is not the case and instead it is a sophisticated citrus smell that is a pleasant change from the wide range of overly sweet and Cinammon relates that are predominate in lush's winter selection this year. 

What stops this from becoming the generic citrus scent of just lemons and limes, the Juniperberry oil adds a refreshing and a slightly smokey, woody aroma dimension to Sparkly Pumpkin creating an extremely pleasing aroma that is perfect for the dark autumnal nights.

This is a product that couldn't be overlooked whilst on show, as it is a bright orange mini pumpkin covered with a generous helping of gold glimmer and a decorative piece of a cinnamon stick, which is a welcome change to the array of pink and white bath products that are on offer.

This is a bubble bar that could certainly be broken into 2 so that you could make the bubble bars last longer and still get a decent amount of bubbles in the bath and turn the water an attractive shade of orange that mimics the autumnal leaves. 

There are quite a few ways that you can use bubble bars to get the maximum amount of bubbles. The way I use is to place the bar in a sieve and hold it under the tap which I find produces the most bubbles for my bath, another way is to crumble it under the taps but I find that you often loose chunks through this process and another way is to crumble the bar onto the surface of the bath and then let the water run over the crumbs, I've not tried this method but it does seem to work quite well. 

For any glitter phones, the glitter is mainly there for decoration and barely makes an impact in the water and doesn't leave any mess at the bottom of the tub. I found that it didn't produce the softest water or the most moisturising but the fragrance lasts for a very long time which I was pleased about and I imagine if you put a butterball/ butter bear in, that would be a good companion to provide moisturising and add another layer to the fragrance. 

4*/5* 

£3.65 

Sorry that it is so short, the water was extremely hot!

Lord Of Misrule Bath Bomb - Halloween 2015

Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Popping Candy, Cream of Tartar, Black Pepper Oil, Patchouli Oil, Fair Trade Vanilla Absolute, Lauryl Betaine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Gardenia Extract, Limonene, Perfume, Colour 17200, Colour 42090 and Colour 19140

Vegan
This has been a Lush staple at Halloween and has cemented itself as a fan favourite throughout the years, which has led to the fragrance being available in other formats, such as the perfume and the shower cream, so that fans can get their fix throughout the year. 
Lush describes this as a 'mischievous bomb that features a spicy herbal blend of patchouli and black pepper. Inspired by the ruler of the Pagan Feast of Fools, LOM has a deep green exterior that slowly froths away to reveal a rich wine coloured centre.' 

The origins of the festival are French, but it spread across the rest of Europe and according to a Lush article about the history of the festival; 'Before the holiday season began, peasants would draw straws to choose a representative for the title of Lord of Misrule. This lucky individual became the ultimate Christmas party planner: he was tasked with organizing all the holiday festivities that were held at court, in the houses of nobles and in universities. Donning an improvised paper crown and ragged clothing, the Lord of Misrule’s power over those he normally served turned regular social constraints on their heads for his entire ruling period. He was given full license to indulge in whatever he desired, and to encourage others to partake in the revelry and debauchery he created. The festivities often included elaborate masquerade parties, intricate performances, games and abundant feasts.' 

The colour combination in this bath bomb leads to trails of pink and green froth spewing forth and eventually becoming wine coloured water. Although Lush has obviously drawn inspiration from the frivolities, you could equally take a more Halloween spin on it and you could imagine yourself bathing in the blood of your enemies! Certainly, the red centre of my bath bomb looked like it was spewing up from the depths of hell due to the way the green shell dissolved. 

This is quite a slow dissolver and it does take a good couple of minutes for the red centre to make an appearance, mine was taking so long I thought they had forgotten to put it in! It made my skin feel very smooth and the fragrance lasted well into the next day.

This has a fragrance that I've not smelled in Lush before, a sweet but equally herby and spicy fragrance. This is due to the three main ingredients; Black Pepper Oil, Patchouli Oil and Vanilla Extract. The black pepper adds a warm spicy fragrance to the bomb that stops the vanilla absolute becoming overpowering and from the patchouli becoming too heavy and earthy. Essentially, Lush has reached a perfect balance between these fragrances and created something truly magical. I shall definitely be getting more to keep me going throughout the year. 

5*/5* 

£3.95 each 

Yog Nog Soap

Ingredients: Water, Glycerine, Rapeseed Oil, Coconut Oil, Sorbitol, Soya Yoghurt, Perfume, Clove Bud Oil, Ylang, Ylang Oil, Gardenia Extract, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Eugenol, Linalool, Cocoa Powder, Nutmeg Powder. 

This is a beautifully presented Christmas soap a turning festive images such as stars, Christmas trees and baubles and smells good enough to eat! If this was a pudding, I would eat it every day and it would be perfect. 

Yog nog is one of the first soaps from Lush I have actually used in the shower rather than just washing my hands with it. It did produce a light lather to wash myself with and I found that it did loose some of its scent under the running water but after I towelled myself off, the fragrance came back with full force. 

The combination of ingredients create a wonderfully fudgey, warm and sweet aroma and has become one of my favourites from Lush.

Ylang Ylang oil has a sweet floral aroma that helps create the fudgey scent that evokes memories of walking past sweet shops at Christmas time and eagerly gazing in at the shop windows at the displays and the Clove Oil provides a spicy and yet another sweet scent that is warming on the sense and creates a lovely perfume. Clove buds have been associated with Chirstmas traditions and I remember making Pomander Oranges at primary school but some further googling reveals that is a Colonial American tradition so I'm not entirely sure why we were making them! Another ingredient in this soap is soya yoghurt which helps create a creamy and moisturising lather that soothes the skin and also has anti oxidant properties to boot! And finally cocoa powder has residual traces of cocoa butter which gives Yog Nog a silky smooth texture and softens the skin when used as well as helping create the fudgey sweet smell. It is decorated with nutmeg powder which also helps create the overall fragrance and into invoking memories of Chirstmas home cooking and baking. 

This is the perfect Christmas soap in my opinion, and for fans of the fragrance there is also a festive bath bomb and I have seen on the Kitchen of a Yog Nog perfume so there is also a possibility that you can pick up this beautiful fragrance at another time during the year. I shall certainly be stocking up on the soap and bath bombs to see me through the post Christmas months. 

4*/5*

£3.50 for 100g 

£8.75 for 250g 

£17.50 for 500g 

Lush Haul - Halloween, Christmas and Kitchen Products

So I've been terrible at updating this blog recently, I've moved back to Bath and had to survive 2 weeks with virtually no internet which was great fun! But the great thing about being back in Bath is a) I'm back with my friends b) one of those friends will go shopping with me and c) there is a Lush store in town!

So one Friday afternoon, the day the new range was released in stores, I persuaded her to come with me to Lush and we went a tiny, little bit crazy! We were in there for about an hour and I ended up with a lovely staff member named Kaz carrying one of my baskets for me as I was getting so much! They didn't have all the products in store yet so I did get some on line but a couple more products have been released on line so I suppose I shall just have to do some more shopping plus I got some more general products too :)

This will mainly be a picture heavy post and I will put reviews up in the coming weeks.

Bath Bombs and Bubble Bars

1 L-R: Shoot for the Stars, Holly Golightly, Father Christmas
2 L-R: Luxury Lush Pud, Dashing Santa, Five Gold Rings
3 L-R: Bah Humbug, Snow Angel, Lord of Misrule

1 L-R: Sparkly Pumpkin, Peeping Santa, Cinders, Golden Wonder
2 L-R: Butterbear, So White, Candy Mountain, Magic Wand

 Shower Gels and Jellies

1 L-R: Santa's Belly, Nightwing, Snowman
2 L-R: Salt and Peppermint Bark, Lord of Misrule, Snow Fairy, Rose Jam

Dusting Powders 

Kitchen 

1 L-R: Brimstone Scrub, Elixir Bath Melt
2 L-R: After 8.30 Massage Bar, It's A Pleasure Treasure MB, Cosmic Dreamcatcher MB

Miscellaneous

1 L-R: Celestial, Jersey Bounce
2 L-R: No Drought, Christingle
3 L-R Yog Nog, Damaged, Dream Time, Montalbano