(Review) Yog Nog: Sugar & Spice

Whenever I wake up and see the sun shining through my blinds, I always smile and snug a little bit closer to my blankets and pillow.  There's something about a nice, cloudless sunny day that just puts me in a good mood.  My apartment is bright and cheery, I can hear kids outside playing...there's just something about sunshine that makes the days a little bit better.  And then I go outside and am met with the sharp wind at my cheek, the cold air numbing my nose, and the sudden chill creeping through my clothes down to my bones.  And then I remember it's December.  And I live in the midwest.  And winter sucks.

Cold weather is all well and good when you're inside with your blankets, a hot mug of cocoa, and a good book or Netflix marathon to keep you warm, but when you're running around outside and actually have to leave the house, the minutes become hours and the thought of a warm fire and your PJs will never leave your mind.  That, and the sharp, biting cold and wreak havoc on your skin.  I know for sure it's wreaking havoc on mine!

Where I live in the summer is always sticky with humidity and sweat, but a complete 180 happens when the weather turns cold.  From dry skin to chapped lips to nosebleeds on the regular, I dry out from head to toe.  So one lone night when my skin felt as dry and tight as a finely tuned violin string, I decided my nightly post-work bath needed to help remedy this problem.
 

I wasn't surprised in the slightest to see Yog Nog make a return in a different form.  I recall the buttery, cinnamon sprinkled blocks of soap practically vanishing before my eyes last Christmas.  This year I've noticed it's been selling a little more slowly, but I've been seeing the bath bomb of the same name being sold in droves.

Yog Nog bath bomb is essentially a triple threat.  The standard bath bomb formula also contains grated bubble bar mix, which makes for a slower, frothier fizz, and a bath melt tucked in the middle makes this creamy, spicy bath bomb a much needed moisturizing treat!

Watching Yog Nog fizz away in the tub was like watching a cadbury cream egg dissolve.  Even though the Golden Egg bath bomb from Easters past is more inspired by the treat than this one, it looked a lot more like the actual chocolate candy that makes my teeth sting.  The foam was yellow and white, and the bath melt in the middle looked like a pat of butter on toast.

I'm always wary of yellow bath bombs since they tend to look like...well...you know, but I feel like Lush is getting their yellow pigments down so that won't be a problem!  The yellow was more neon rather than earthy toned, and looked bright and vibrant.  Sinking into the tub was a definite treat...like being wrapped in a spicy knit blanket!  And when I popped out, the water beading on my skin was a good indication that I was well moisturized and soft to the touch.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised with Yog Nog and its turnout.  I'm not one for food smells, and spicy cinnamon and clove scents remind me of any and every baked good at Christmas, but this one really took the cake (yes that was a pun and yes I'm very proud of it).  The scent was warming and comforting, and it really moisturized my all over dry, scaly winter-lizard skin.  If you're a fan of the bar soap, you definitely need to get the bath bomb!

***Yog Nog bath bomb is certified Vegan

(Review) Melting Snowman: No I Don't Wanna Build a Snowman, Stop Asking Me

I have no idea what my deal has been lately.  Every part of my body has been so itchy lately I feel like I should be a human sized cat scratching post.  While lounging around on one of my rare days off, playing a video game on my newly purchased Playstation 4 (money well spent I might add), I had to pause the game multiple times in order to satisfy the scratchy irritation that was mainly on my legs.  I actually scratched myself to the point of bleeding.  Well what's a little blood if I get some kind of momentary relief from this hell?!  My skin dries out in the winter, but it's NEVER been this bad.  The recent polar vortex that's whipped through my town in a flurry of snow and ice might have something to do with it, or the fact that I've been wearing thick, knee high stockings underneath my work leggings.  Or maybe life just hates me and doesn't want me to have nice things, I have no idea.  But amidst killing a hoard of renegade mages, I put down my controller and sighed.  Time for a bath with a much needed bath melt.

 

Melting Snowman was a fleeting bath melt that my store had for quite a short time.  Not only was it a huge seller, but it sold extremely fast and was like we never had it after our supply was gone.  I was lucky enough to receive one in my staff box, and I was in love at first whiff.  The cinnamon and clove scent is something I love very much, very spicy and not too sweet, so it didn't remind me of bathing in a big, sticky cinnamon bun (which I have no problem eating.  Bathing in...totally different story).  It's actually the scent of Swedish mulled wine, but to me it just smells like chocolate and cinnamon. 

It also surprised me to learn that this little guy contains patchouli, which I couldn't smell at all!  I didn't even know that until I dipped into my training manual and found it listed underneath the ingredients!  I know patchouli is one of those love it or hate it smells (that I love a lot) but don't let that scare you off if you don't like it.  You can't smell it at all!  And of course, what would a bath melt be without lots of nourishing butters and oils like cocoa, shea, and almond to make you nice and soft.

 

Melting Snowman has a bit of baking soda included so when you pop it in your bath it sinks right to the bottom and fizzes.  Meanwhile I flitted around my tub with my camera, snapping pictures for this blog entry and pausing every so often to scratch my legs like a cricket singing his mating song.  When I pulled Melting Snowman from the depths of the tub, I couldn't help but laugh at his eyes and buttons melting everywhere.  His eyes and buttons if you didn't know are vegan chocolate chips, which actually taste quite nice!  The remnants left little brown flecks floating on top of the creamy white water which I prefer to see as freckles and not as something else (you guys are gross).  After he was all gone ("and he waved goodbye saying "don't you cry, I'll be back again someday!") I popped a Fizzbanger bath bomb into the water to give a bit of color and amp up the spiciness of the cinnamon.  This is a cocktail I like to call "The Nostril Stinger" and Holly Golightly bubble bar can be added for more intensity and bubbles!

KILL MEEEEEEEEEEEE

 Once I sat in my tub I was immediately given a massive amount of relief when the softening butters coated my legs in a layer of warm, cozy, and slightly spicy moisture.  The scent was to DIE for (I LOVE cinnamon) and my bath was nice and hot.  I cracked open my book and enjoyed my spicy soak.

When I got out my legs felt so much softer and I didn't even need any body lotion.  My legs, being currently the driest part of my body soaked everything up immediately while my arms and torso needed a bit of massaging since some of the oils were still sitting on my skin.  It left me feeling soft and not greasy and the scent really stuck!

Overall I was very pleased with this product.  It has to be one of my favorites from the holiday range and something I really really hope they bring back next year!  Next time I'm prying out one of those vegan chocolate chips and eating it...just so you know ;)

(Review) The Christmas Hedgehog: Snooping As Usual I See

I think I have a love/hate relationship with snow.  Growing up in the midwest, it was a given that we had at least one terrible, horrible, no good very bad snowstorm at least once per season.  One where you'd look outside to see fat fluffy flakes gently pillowing on the frozen ground, and depending on your age, would either whoop with joy or groan with annoyance.  Some days I love the snow.  I can just wrap myself in the fluffiest of blankets, park it on my couch with a cup of tea or hot chocolate, and relax with a movie, book, or video game.  Because there's a certain stillness about snowfall.  It's like all the sound outside is muted and it's so still and quiet.  It's peaceful and it's quiet.  Unless you have to drive somewhere.

I consider myself a very down to earth, laid back individual.  Very few things can spike my anxiety to critical mass.  One of those things is driving in the snow.  Back when I was a youth of 19 (get off my lawn) I was in my final year of community college, before I moved out to the city I currently reside in.  One snowy December night, my literature teacher dismissed us early, citing worrying weather as a reason.  "I don't want you getting into any car accidents!" he warned with a chuckle.  Oh the damn irony of that statement.  Twenty minutes later I was in a gas station parking lot with a busted right bumper, standing next to the girl I hit and the two of us glaring at the douche waffle (to be polite) who cut her off, causing her to slam on her breaks and me to skid into her through a patch of black ice.  Though the gas station attendant was nice enough to bring us paper cups of hot chocolate, I was still peeved...and scared.

Though I walked away with a slightly damaged bumper, a bruised sternum, and a doubled insurance rate, it was enough to put the fear of god in me when it came to driving in the snow.  Even years later (not that many, I'm not THAT old) it still scares me a lot.  So after one particularly rough morning where I white knuckled my steering wheel all the way to work, I knew I needed something to soothe my rattled nerves.  Enter this little guy!

 

 

The Christmas Hedgehog is a bubble bar I received in my staff box.  A new product to this year's Christmas range at Lush, Christmas Hedgehog has the same scent as last year's Noriko soap, which was composed of lavender and ylang ylang.  His little body has a thick layer of shea and cocoa butter "frosting" (from the Luxury bath melt) for supreme amounts of hydration for thirsty winter skin.  And when it comes to relaxation, nothing says it better than a hydrating, soothing bath with lavender and ylang ylang.

I'm quite fond of the two scents together, and when I came home I hastily took off my snow soaked boots, threw my coat off, and grabbed this guy out of my ceramic dish of Lush goodies, intent on sacrificing him to the bath gods (for good instead of evil of course).

 

So as some of you guys know, I usually only crumble half a bubble bar into my tub, because my tub is small and it seems to be enough for me.  Well, when I crumbled half of this little guy into my tub, I was met with a disappointing lack of bubbles.  I was actually quite shocked to find there were little to no bubbles at all!  So I did something I never do, and that was to use the entire bubble bar.  Even after the entire thing was dissolved, even after swishing my arms around vigorously to agitate the bubble mix, and even after the tub was filled all the way, there were still way less bubbles than I was used to.  Other small bubble bars that I used half of (like Dorothy) had given me plenty more bubbles than this guy.

The water was nothing too spectacular.  A cloudy snow color with a light dusting of bubbles.  I was disappointed with the bubble turnout, but I can't deny that the scent and the softness it left on my skin were spectacular.  Also it did calm down my anxiety from speeding home at a vicious 25mph in the middle of a damn blizzard, so I can attest to the relaxing properties!

Overall I have to say I was quite disappointed with this bubble bar.  While it worked great as a bath melt and stress reliever, it didn't live up to the notion of a bubble bar, having produced barely any bubbles.  But at my shop we've been selling out of The Christmas Hedgehog quite quickly, so it works for some people!  The hedgehog I got in my staff box was also quite a bit smaller than the ones available to the public, so that could've also been a deciding factor in my less than stellar experience.  Plenty more bubble bars where that came from though!

**The Christmas Hedgehog is certified Vegan
***Purchase The Christmas Hedgehog at your local LUSH store or online here      

(Review) Phoenix Rising: Feathers Not Included

"We believe in the right to make mistakes, lose everything, and start again."

Just a small snippet of LUSH's "We Believe" story.  When I read the full statement, that particular line resonated with me quite strongly.  Goodness knows I've made many mistakes during my life, and many of you readers have too.  I feel for any company to admit that they've made mistakes and talk about them at length and detail is a bold move.  It was one of the things that piqued my interest in LUSH, and showed that behind this company were humans with hopes and dreams and feelings like me.  It makes them relatable and it's one of the reasons they're a fantastic company.  Phoenix Rising was a bath bomb designed to pay tribute to that statement.

Phoenix Rising is a royal purple and gold pot shaped bath bomb that packs quite a punch in both color and scent.  It's half bath melt too, so if moisture is what you're looking for, this bath bomb is for you! 

I have to admit, lately I had been feeling a bit down in the dumps.  I'm still wallowing in that post-college lost phase a lot of twenty somethings my age go through.  For the most part I'm fine and dandy, but sometimes I get a little sad and feel a bit lost and lonely.  So Phoenix Rising seemed like it would be a great pick me up.  Plus I'm nuts about cinnamon scented things!

Not only was Phoenix Rising inspired by the We Believe story, but the We Believe story was inspired by LUSH's own story.  Before LUSH became LUSH, they were Cosmetics To Go, a company many U.K residents would be familiar with.  Cosmetics To Go was a popular cosmetics company back in the late 80s-early 90s that had the same goals and morals LUSH has today (i.e. no animal testing, natural ingredients, etc), but ultimately went bankrupt.  For the founders, it was quite a dark time, until they rose from the ashes and formed LUSH in 1994.  And it's been all uphill ever since!

So into the tub Phoenix Rising went.  It immediately plunked to the bottom with a loud "thunk", but soon rose up to the surface, letting loose a beautiful, floral patterned purple froth that smelled warm and cozy.  I could see some oil floating around the surface, which didn't surprise me because of the bath melt interior.  Phoenix Rising contains tons of shea and cocoa butters, which are super moisturizing, as well as bergamot (a known mood lifter and one of my favorite scents), jojoba, and cinnamon leaf oils.  The bomb kind of swam around the surface like a flying saucer, taking it's sweet (and spicy!) time fizzing away, the tub becoming a gradually darker shade of purple.  Soon, flecks of green and shimmer started to appear.

Phoenix Rising's inner bath melt core is a light, seafoam green that doesn't clash with the purple and make it brown.  The green is a frosted holly luster (the same luster that's also in the Avobath bath bomb) and isn't opaque enough to clash.  I stuck my hands into the water and could feel how silky smooth it was, but not greasy.  On the contrary, it felt like a very light oil, not heavy in the slightest.

So into the tub I went, sinking into what felt like silk bedcovers.  The bergamot helped tone down the cinnamon scent so it didn't singe my nostrils and added a lighter note so it wasn't so heavy.  I could see oil deposits outlined in gold shimmer floating around the tub.  I soaked for a good two hours, feeling like royalty in a royal purple bath speckled with gold shimmer.  When I patted myself dry after, I found I didn't need lotion afterwards as the oil was enough to moisturize my skin and leave it lightly scented.  The only downside is that it left a bit of a purple stain in my tub, but it was faint and easily washed off.  I've heard of this bomb staining before, so it had me a bit worried, but it was easily removed with some bath cleaner and some elbow grease.

Overall, Phoenix Rising was a fantastic bath bomb to soothe a sad soul.  The cinnamon was invigorating and a deep purple bath just had me totally psyched.  And it looks like a bath bomb Dumbledore would use...which is of course, awesome.  Was it a miracle worker in terms of mood lifting?  Of course not.  If all of our problems were solved with baths I'd never get out!  But it did help clear my mind and help me focus.  And it did help me forget my troubles for a while, which is always a good thing.  But overall, I was pleased with this bath bomb.  Happy or sad, I'd use it over and over again!

  "It's okay to make mistakes, and it's okay to fall down.  Get up.  Look SICKENING.  And make them EAT IT!"

                                                  - Latrice Royale

** This bath bomb is certified Vegan

** Purchase Phoenix Rising at your local LUSH store, or buy it online here

(Review) Golden Egg: The Goose Didn't Lay this One

I've never been a timely person, hence why I'm reviewing an Easter product in June.  My store wasn't open for Easter, so I didn't get my Easter goodies until later, so I knew that when I got my box of goodies that I had to hold onto this baby for a good while.  But I've heard many things about the coveted Golden Egg.  I remember seeing people online trying to draw up swaps for a Golden Egg, offering any Lush item at all for that shimmery sweet smelling bomb.  People were still asking if we had it long after Easter had ended.  It's a highly sought after item, and after marinating in it for hours, I can definitely see why!

So I got a nice weekend off and the apartment to myself, and that was a special enough occasion for me.  So I busted open the little plastic baggy holding the coveted egg inside and tossed it into the tub.  Obviously if you don't like glitter, this bath bomb isn't for you.  The fine, shimmery coating immediately disperses when it hits the water, and doesn't release as much glitter as you'd think.

Is it just me or does Golden Egg look like a glittery potato?

Golden Egg is different from other bath bombs because it's coated with a bath melt layer.  The inspiration behind such a product was Cadbury Eggs, except with a hard inner layer and a creamy outer layer.  So an inside out Cadbury Egg, except without the chocolate and the urge to vomit after eating a half dozen or so.  It takes a long time to melt through that layer, slowly distributing a pale yellow shimmery oil until it gets to the bomb tucked inside, which promptly starts to fizz and rotate the egg like a spinning top. 

Golden Egg is made up of a bunch of super moisturizing ingredients, mainly olive oil and fair trade cocoa butter.  All of Lush's cocoa butter comes from Columbia, specifically from the Peace community in San Jose.  It's certified organic, fair trade, and deodorized so the scent isn't overpowering.  It's also used in the Therapy and Peace massage bars.  Golden Egg is also scented with the infamous Honey I Washed the Kids fragrance (also used in It's Raining Men shower gel) and I could definitely tell.  The only note that was missing was that salty note that makes HIWTK smell like salted caramel toffee.  So it just smelled like caramel toffee to me, which is fine (and delicious!).  Golden Egg also contains citrus scented oils like sweet wild orange and bergamot to cut through that sweet toffee scent and tone it down.

The melt layer is almost gone, and the bath bomb beneath releases spurts of frothy white foam

 

When the bath bomb had fully melted, I sank into my nice, sweet smelling bath.  Despite being completely frosted in shimmer, I found I wasn't sitting in a tub full of it.  I saw a nice amount of sparkle here and there, but it wasn't overwhelming.  The olive oil contained in the egg was made apparent, as the bath water looked like I was soaking in a tub full of it.  Amongst the glitter and creamy white froth, I saw oil deposits floating along the surface.  I soaked for a good long while, content with reading A Clash of Kings and listening to Futurama blasting in the next room, occasionally contemplating the craziness of Orange Is the New Black (how crazy was the second season?!).

When I got out of the tub, I was coated in oil.  Not heavily so, but enough to where I patted myself dry and rubbed the excess in so I wouldn't want for a moisturizer later on.  All the glitter sank to the bottom of the tub, but was quickly gone and down the drain when I turned the shower on.

Overall, this was a fantastic bath bomb.  I was super moisturized and sweet smelling all night and the morning after.  Honestly I didn't even need a moisturizer this morning after I got out of the shower!  It was THAT intensive.  So if you want a sparkly sweet treat and a tall glass of water for your skin, this is the right bath bomb for you!

So tell me readers...if you could have any LUSH seasonal product be put in the permanent range, which would it be?  Let me know in the comments!  I have anonymous comments enabled, so anyone can comment!  I'd love to hear from you all!

*This product is certified Vegan