Hot Toddy

Some shower gels can be used all year round, while some are mainly limited to one time of year.

Hot Toddy is a perfect example of a shower gel which is loved, but not exactly used by everybody all the time. It’s definitely a Christmas scent.

Many describe it as a scent which is similar to that of coca cola, and while I agree, after having a few sniffs I must admit that it’s more cinnamon and clove that I smell. When compared to, say, Santa Baby lip scrub, the lip scrub is what I’d call a cola scent. It’s much sweeter, whereas Hot Toddy is a spicy scent, consisting of mainly cinnamon and cloves. It’s perfect for fans of Lush’s spicier scents.

The colour of Hot Toddy is gorgeous; it’s a deep red with golden lustre swirled in. Don’t let this put you off Hot Toddy, however, as the lustre doesn’t really transfer to your skin. The red colour is absolutely festive and suits the scent so well. Unfortunately, most of the lustre has settled at the bottom of my bottle, as it seems to do with a lot of my shower gels which contain lustre.

Despite the Christmas nature of the scent, I could maybe imagine using this during hot weather. I really enjoy spicy scents like Lord of Misrule and Glogg (which is very similar to Hot Toddy!) so I can use them all year round. The heat of the sun only adds to the spiciness of the scent and increases the fragrance.

Many claim that Hot Toddy and Glogg are the exact same scent. I really disagree, as although they’re similar, Glogg contains red wine and brandy which gives it an extra kick. I do prefer Hot Toddy, though.

Hot Toddy works up a mighty lather, creating a bubbly foam which easily glides over your skin. It’s not extremely moisturising, though I do still enjoy using it. The scent lasts for a while on your skin also.

I’m rather disappointed that this was removed from the Christmas range back in 2015. I find that it’s a Christmas favourite of many Lush fans, so I’m not so sure why it was discontinued. Luckily, we have the kitchen though!

This product is vegan.

List of Ingredients: ginger infusion, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium cocoamphoacetate, fair trade aloe vera gel, lauryl betaine, propylene glycol, fresh organic lemon juice, fine sea salt, clove leaf oil, patchouli oil, lime oil, benzoin resinoid, cinnamon leaf oil, sweet orange oil, carrageenan extract, cinnamal, eugenol, limonene, linalool, benzyl benzoate, benzyl cinnamate, coumarin, hexyl cinnamal, perfume, colour 14700, colour 17200, gold glimmer lustre, methylparaben.

This is a kitchen product.

 

 

 

 

The Olive Branch

I can’t lie, my first feeling towards this gel was disappointment. Even now, I feel a bit unsure about it.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the smell. I really love it. Matching its scent with Pop In The Bath bubble bar and The Christmas Penguin bubble bar, the sweet mix of mandarin and bergamot will definitely awaken your senses. This is a gel which really needs a good shake to mix the olive oil in with the ingredients to provide the brilliant moisture this gel gives.

However, even as you give the bottle a light shake, you can’t help but notice that something’s a bit off with this gel.

It’s just so watery.

And runny.

As you can tell from this photo, the gel is very transparent and watery.

Such a watery shower gel will result in a large loss of product for many. Even I lose a fair amount when I tip the bottle into my hand. I do wonder how much has been wasted and how much has actually been put to use. The olive oil obviously doesn’t help with the consistency, but it really does give it the moisturising property I tend to look for in Lush products. Olive oil also contains hydroxytyrosol, which is a powerful antioxidant.

Looking past the extremely thin consistency of this gel, the lather it creates is incredible. Using just a small amount (as most of it has probably dripped into the plug hole by now) will create a fair amount of bubbles. It’s also a great product to use in the bath to make bubbles; not only will it give you a number of bubbles but it will moisturise you as you soak, too.

I wouldn’t really consider using this as a shampoo because my hair can be quite oily and I doubt the olive oil will help. However, I may test it out some day.

This isn’t a product I’ll reach for straight away, or even crave, but I do use it from time to time, especially when paired with products within the scent family.

This product is suitable for vegans.

List of Ingredients:  vine leaf infusion, water, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium cocoamphoacetate, fresh mandarin juice, fair trade olive oil, perfume, propylene glycol, bergamot oil, lemon oil, orange flower absolute, mandarin oil, fine sea salt, limonene, linalool, hydroxycitronellal, colour 14700, methylparaben.

Part of the regular line.

Yuzu and Cocoa

Lush describe this shower cream as smelling like chocolate oranges. From the bottle I disagree; I can barely smell the cocoa butter or cocoa absolute. It’s more of a grapefruit mixed with coconut scent that I initially smell.

When I use this in the shower, however, the cocoa scent comes to life and the scent does remind me of chocolate oranges. The orange fragrance is definitely active both in the bottle and during use.

This shower cream is very opaque in comparison to many shower gels, just as you’d expect from any shower cream. As shown in the photo below, the cream is quite runny yet very thick. The bright yellow appearance matches the colour of the Yuzu and Cocoa bubbleroon, making a perfect yellow bath if you combine the two.

The scent will stay on your skin for hours as I discovered a few days ago. A few of my peers complimented my fragrance throughout the day, and I couldn’t help agreeing with them. Yuzu and Cocoa truly is a delicious smell.

Moving on from my hunger caused by this shower cream, the cocoa butter in the ingredients adds to the moisturising factors of this product. It will slip across your skin, creating a lather as you rub it over your body. Unfortunately, I do find that shower creams don’t lather as much as the gels, which means that you’ll need to use a bit extra than you usually would. But hey, the smell will be stronger even if you have to branch out and use a bit more than usual. 

In terms of creating bubbles, this cream is perfect for a bath. I enjoy using shower creams as bubble bath because they’re so moisturising.

Overall, I’m glad that this is a regular line product. It means I don’t need to use it very sparingly, so the slight lack of lather isn’t much of a problem. I can easily purchase another bottle or two if needed, and I highly recommend that you do so too.

This product is suitable for vegans.

List of Ingredients: water (aqua), sodium laureth sulfate, sodium cocoamphoacetate, yuzu infusion (citrus junos), glycerine, stearic acid, fresh yuzu juice (citrus junos), lauryl betaine, perfume, fair trade organic cocoa butter (theobroma cacao), lactic acid, cocoa absolute (theobroma cacao), tonka absolute (dipteryx odorata), grapefruit oil (citrus paradisi), bergamot oil (citrus aurantium bergamia), titanium dioxide, citral, coumarin, limonene, linalool, colour 19140, methylparaben, propylparaben.

Part of the regular line.

It’s Raining Men

Honey, honey, honey. Where do I begin?

I’ve never been a huge honey fan. I’m not sure what it is about it. The smell just gives me a headache; it’s far too sickly for me. However, this scent is bearable for me. I very rarely use it, but with the Christmas range being released, I had to pull out this gel and blow the dust off it to pair it with the new Shoot for the Stars bath bomb. Luckily for me, the more I use it, the more I grow to like it. I can ignore the honey and make out a slight toffee scent, which unfortunately isn’t as strong as it is in the HIWTK soap, for example.

Sharing its scent with  the much-loved Honey I Washed The Kids range, this regular line shower gel is a perfect addition to any honey lovers out there. As it contains real honey, the gel is perfect for moisturising the skin as well as giving it a good clean. It conjures a lovely, thick lather quite easily. The consistency is nice, thick and creamy. I’ll put this down to the honey, as honey itself is usually thick and runny. Due to the moisturising goodness of this gel, when I used it in my hair I found that it was also very moisturising for my hair and left it feeling soft and looking shiny.

The lovely, milky toffee shade is a perfect colour for the scent and I really couldn’t imagine it being any other colour.

I must admit, as I am sitting here smelling this gel and putting my emotions into words, it’s putting me in the mood for a nice HIWTK themed bath even though I’m not a big honey fan. Perhaps it’s the toffee drawing me in.

I truly feel for the many vegans out there who are patiently waiting for a vegan alternative to this product.

This product is not suitable for vegans.

List of Ingredients: honey, rosehip lotus flowers and tiger lily infusion (rosa canina, nelumbo nucifera and lilum tigrinum), sodium laureth sulfare, sodium cocoamphoacetate, water (aqua), perfume, propylene glycol, brazilian orange oil (citrus sinensis), bergamot oil (citrus aurantium bergamia), titanium dioxide, limonene, citronellol, linalool, amyl cinnamal, lilial, methylparaben.

Part of the regular line. 

The Comforter

The Comforter shower cream has possibly become one of the most well known Lush shower products, along with Snow Fairy. Most new Lush fans adore it whereas many fans appreciate it but don’t always rave about it. I’d say that The Comforter is one of the more “iconic” scent families, which is why this shower cream is so popular. Many people associate this scent with Lush and I find it bizarre because Lush has so many more scents on offer. I’m one of the Lush fans who does appreciate a good shower using this cream however I don’t usually list it as one of my favourite products, despite how much I enjoy it.

Described by Lush as being like a cuddle in a bottle, this shower cream certainly suits the name. Much like the bubble bar, the sweet scent of blackberry mixed in with vanilla, cassis absolute and bergamot oil is enough to leave you wanting more.

This cream is rather thin with generous amounts of lustre swirled in with the bright pink colour. Despite how moisturising it is, the lather isn’t anything special; it only creates a small amount of lather so I’d recommend using quite a big amount of the cream. I did find that this cream temporarily stained my hand pink when I used it the other day, which confused me because I had never experienced staining from this product. Perhaps it’s because I was so interested in the glittery colour as the thin, runny consistency dripped down my arm.

The scent will leave a strong fragrance on your skin, a constant reminder of the lovely shower/bath you had. This is perfect for hot weather because the scent increases much more in the heat, creating a fruity yet sweet aroma which will last a good few hours.

I can somewhat understand why this is such a loved product; it was one of my first shower products from Lush when I decided to branch out from my usual Snow Fairy as Comforter was released into the regular line. Of course, I will always come back to The Comforter as it is such a sweet fruity scent. Perfect for new and old Lush fans.

This product is suitable for vegans. 

List of Ingredients: water (aqua), sodium laureth sulfate, blackberry and fair trade vanilla infusion (rubus fruticosus; vanilla planifolia), sodium cocoamphoacetate, stearic acid, lauryl betaine, propylene glycol, perfume, almond oil (prunus dulcis), lactic acid, titanium dioxide, bergamot oil (citrus aurantium bergamia, cassis absolute (ribes nigrum), cypress oil (cupressus sempervirens), limonene, linalool, snowflake lustre (potassium aluminium silicate,  titanium dioxide), colour 17200, colour 45410, methylparaben.

Part of the regular line.