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The Vegan Kind’s November Beauty Box
Welcome to The Vegan Kind’s November Beauty Box review. As always, this month’s box was a delight to open and I thoroughly enjoyed trying out all products. For those that don’t know, The Vegan Kind’s Beauty Box is available to subscribers every three months and all products are guaranteed to at least total the amount you pay for it.
20p from every Beauty Box is donated to the Dr. Hadwen Trust who are the UK’s leading non-animal medical research charity. They fund and promote alternative research methods, rather than animal test. DHT award grants to places such as universities, hospitals and researchers after a thorough selection procedure. Since 1971 they have awarded grants to aid research in studies for Alzheimer’s, cancer, asthma, diabetes, disease of the kidney, heart or liver and many more.
Let’s get down to the products now. I have a helper today in the form of a new rattie friend called Rembrandt AKA Remy, who is now Arturo’s new friend (he lost his brother recently). First up, we have Maggie Anne ‘Gel Effect Nail Varnish’ which I am actually currently wearing. It usually costs £10.50 so it’s not a cheap option but I think it’s worth every penny. It’s slightly thicker than normal nail varnishes because of the gel effect it provides, so two thin layers are usually required. Personally, I have found it long lasting and I am impressed that it hasn’t chipped yet (I have awful luck with chipped nail varnish). The gel effect is also spot on and I really like the colour it came in (which is called ‘Jasper’ and quite a nude shade). All of Maggie Anne’s nail varnish is vegan and toxin-free. They have a wide variety of shades and have kindly supplied TVK subscribers with a discount code. 8/10
This month we saw another product by Human + Kind. This time it’s a body scrub that comes in their beautiful packaging. The three-in-one body scrub softens, smooths and revitalises your skin whilst exfoliating at the same time to remove dead skin cells. It’s delicately fragranced with what I can only describe as a slight grapefruit/citrus smell. It’s ideal before using self-tan products and complimentary during the winter months. Human + Kind ‘Body Scrub’ retails at £13.50. 9/10
Inecto Naturals ‘Little Saviour Coconut Hand and Nail Cream’ comes in a standard 75ml bottle that generally costs £1.00. I love the Inecto range. Their products smell divine and are cruelty free and vegan. They are also pretty easy to obtain in pound shops I have found! So I wasn’t surprised to discover this hand cream is one of the best I have used. I can’t stand greasy hand cream and feeling like my hands are coated in it so I am always weary. Inecto Naturals ‘Little Saviour Coconut Hand and Nail Cream’ however, is lightweight and non-greasy, yet nourishing and moisturising. It’s a great size to pop in your bag and carry around with you and the coconut smell is absolutely amazing as always. I will be using this one in future. It’s kind to the animals, kind to the environment, kind to you AND kind to your wallet. What more could you want? 10/10
Next we have PHB Ethical Beauty ‘Peach Lip Liner’. Now I wasn’t too sure about the colour if I’m honest. If you know me, you know if I wear lip stick it will be in an unusual, bold colour such as blue or green. However, I do occasionally wear a nude lip so I was happy to incorporate this pencil into that colour scheme somehow. The colour is matte and long-lasting and this particular shade is a sort of dusky peach colour. You can use it just to line your lips like I do, or you can actually apply it all over like a lipstick or even underneath a lipstick! It’s very versatile. The colour is richly pigmented and moisturising which I did notice and really appreciated. Plant oils and waxes soften lips and nourish them which also helps with a smooth and easy application. PHB Ethical Beauty ‘Peach Lip Liner’ RRP’s at £8.95 which is more than I would normally pay for a pencil of any kind. The quality is very good though I think I would prefer a different colour next time. 7/10
We have come to one of my favourites: Dr. Organic ‘Moroccan Argan Oil Body Wash’. I was a bit gutted it was only the 75ml sized bottle in this month’s box as I generally love their products. This wash smells absolutely incredible. I was actually very surprised as how much I liked it because I haven’t been overwhelmed by any argan oil products before. The wash leaves you feeling regenerated and invigorated. It hydrates your skin and leaves you smelling fabulous. Dr. Organic ‘Moroccan Argan Oil’ is rich in vitamins, antioxidants and essential fatty acids. The argan oil is blended with organic aloe vera, clove oil, wild mint oil, orange peel extract and vanilla fruit extract. This product is a treat for your senses, not just your skin. It costs around £2.99 for 75ml and is available in Holland and Barrett. 9/10
Amie Naturally Kind ‘Morning Dew Matte-Finish Moisturiser’ is made out of high quality plant extracts that help keep your skin clear, soft and radiant. This came in a 10ml bottle, but a full size bottle usually costs £4.95. I generally rate Amie’s products, having only discovered them via TVK, but I am sorry to say I did not like this moisturiser. Despite it supposedly being matte-finish, I found it greasy and oily. It made my skin look it too. I do have combination skin and I do struggle to find face products that harmonise with my skin, but even ones that don’t comply are never normally as bad as this. This moisturiser uses natural plant sugars to hydrate the skin, rosehip and bilberry to nourish and soften, and orange and lemon blossom to to control excess oil and shine. I feel so disappointed as I love their face wash and I was so excited when I opened my box to see an Amie product that could potentially help my oily skin. Their products are all PH balanced, vegan and cruelty free, free-from parabens, minerals oils, petrochemicals, plastic micro-beads and other nasties. Amie’s products are suitable for sensitive skin and made in the UK. TVK Beauty Box subscribers have also received a whopping 50% off discount code with this box. 4/10
We have arrived at our last product which is actually a sample pouch of Faith In Nature’s ‘Watermelon Shampoo’. I wish we had received a bottle as this smells every bit as good as you are probably imagining! Watermelon helps to hydrate and moisturise hair and skin, whilst smelling juicy and mouth-watering. Organic glycerine has been added to aid moisture retention. I love the Faith In Nature range because their products are excellent quality and presented in beautiful, eye-catching packaging. They always smell amazing too. It will cost you around £5.50 for a full size bottle of this watermelon shampoo, but I have found prices vary if you shop around. 8/10
Overall Beauty Box rating: 8/10
That’s the end of my review for The Vegan Kind’s November Beauty Box. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading. I should have a new review up before Christmas of the next TVK monthly lifestyle box.
The Vegan Kind’s November Lifestyle Box
I apologise for how long it’s taken to get this review online. Last week, I typed it all out and was really happy with it, went to save it and, well . . . it didn’t save basically. I was so annoyed I needed to take a break so I could come back and start afresh. Then a lot of bad stuff happened in one go, including saying goodbye to one of my ratties. But I am going to try my best to write a good quality and accurate review today and I apologise in advance if it’s not up to my usual standard.
This review is for November’s lifestyle box by The Vegan Kind. November was also their beauty box month, so stay tuned for that upcoming review. Focusing on the lifestyle box now, this was their 37th box and was also celebrating their third birthday. Happy birthday The Vegan Kind!
I’ve decided to review these boxes slightly differently. Much will stay the same, apart from I will now rate each product individually, then give the box an overall score at the end of the review. I feel this will provide a more accurate rating for people looking to purchase individual products.
As usual, TVK donate 10p from each lifestyle box to an animal charity. This month ‘Go Vegan Scotland‘ were selected. They are behind the vegan billboard campaign that has been popping up all across Scotland. They also run stalls to help educate others about veganism.
Let’s get down to the products now. As usual my items came in a shoebox style cardboard box stamped with the TVK logo. Inside, the products are nestled amongst shredded cardboard to ensure the safe arrival of the items. I always give the box and it’s shredded cardboard to my ratties as they love nesting in it (or at least, they did).
First up we have Foods of Athenry ‘Just Oats Bite Sized Flapjack Bites’. This is a family company based in Ireland who make tasty free-from goods and have more than fifty taste awards! These flapjacks are a nice size and come in a resealable pouch. They state to have a slight gingery flavour but I would argue that it’s a strong gingery flavour. It’s very much like eating a ginger biscuit with a flapjack texture. They also smell like ginger biscuits. They’re made with gluten-free oats and I actually really enjoyed them. This particular pouch is 150g and fits quite a few nice sized flapjacks. It retails at £2.95 although TVK subscribers have received a discount code with this month’s box. 8/10
Cheeky Monkey ‘Peanut Butter Puffs’ are next. They come in a 60g bag and are perfect for sharing (I only share with Hoggle because I have no real choice in the matter). They are a delicious, healthy snack made by Tzippi Witz, an Israeli mother of four, vegan entrepreneur. The puffs are baked, not fried and taste just like you’d imagine them to: of peanut butter. They are a new favourite of Hoggle’s, he couldn’t get enough of them. I was surprised at how much I liked them too, although I have tried them before. They RRP at £1.99 per bag but you get a fair amount in them. 7/10
Now we have come to FRUU ‘Fruitilicious Avocado Lip Balm’ which retails at £2.99. I’m just nearing the end my Hurraw mint lip balm I received via TVK, so I suppose this was good timing. FRUU provide their lip balms in eye-catching, attractive packaging and their ingredients are all Premium Soil Association approved. They are fairly priced and claim to taste great. I beg to differ on that one though as mine didn’t taste of much, but what I could taste wasn’t particularly nice. FRUU incorporate real fruits into all their balms and enrich them with coconut, avocado and jojoba oils, aloe vera, mango and cocoa butter to help moisturise and soothe by keeping them hydrated. They claim to create a matte look but I didn’t find that the case. They are packed with vitamins and antioxidants though. I have found this lip balm hard to judge. I found it very thick to apply and didn’t feel like it absorbed properly into my lips. I think I will stick with my Hurraw lip balm in future as I just didn’t like FRUU’s ‘Fruitilicious Avocado Lip Balm’. That is a shame in itself as again, TVK subscribers are presented with an exclusive discount code on FRUU’s lip balm range. 5/10
Almost half way through now and on to Lenny and Larry’s ‘Birthday Cake Complete Cookie’. That’s right, it’s basically a cookie that tastes like birthday cake and appropriate for TVK’s birthday box. I can confirm it does indeed look and taste like birthday cake but I really didn’t like it. It had an awful aftertaste I found and I ended up giving the rest to my mum who at least enjoyed it. The cookie is not only topped with rainbow coloured sprinkles but it’s also filled with them throughout which gives the cookie its crunch. Overall it’s pretty chewy though. This birthday cake cookie is nutritious, containing 16g of protein and 8g of fibre! The Vegan Kind have added in a small note to say that Vitamin D3 has been accidentally listed in the ingredients of these birthday cake cookies. This is a packaging error and is being rectified. Lenny and Larry’s ‘Birthday Cake Complete Cookie’ weighs 113g and retails at £2.50. I really didn’t like it though so I will be giving it a 3/10.
We have just a few products left to go now. Next is Mr Organic ‘Free-From Chocolate and Hazelnut Spread’ which comes in a 200g jar and retails at £3.99. I generally love Mr Organic products so I was pleased to see this item, even if I do have a Plamil chocolate spread open currently. Mr Organic only use organically grown produce, (duh!) so no chemical, pesticides or general nasties. It’s very creamy and delicious. Made with cocoa and toasted Italian hazelnuts, it’s truly beautiful. I like mine on toast for supper, but another serving suggestion includes drizzling over vegan banana pancakes. Great news is it’s also free of palm oil! Hooray! TVK have added a note saying that oil separation occurs naturally, so you should stir it before use but mine doesn’t appear to have done that. Regardless, this is well worth treating yourself to. 9/10
This is our last physical product. Pop Chips ‘Sea Salt and Vinegar Ridges’. These tasty ‘chips’ come in a 23g bag that RRP’s at 85p. They aren’t fried, simply popped and do taste pretty good. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of salt flavour. I just seemed to taste vinegar. They were nice enough but not the best I have had. They do have the bonus of containing less fat than normal crisps and I have enjoyed other products in their range, so worth a try. 6/10
Last but not least we have a voucher for 20% off at Ethics and Antics, who are a clothing brand dedicated to building a compassionate community. They were founded by vegan athlete Tim Shieff in 2015 and are now one of the most popular vegan clothing brands around. The brand features items such as a ‘VGANG’ hoodie and a ‘NAGEV’ t-shirt. The voucher is exclusive to TVK subscribers but it’s not something I am particularly interested in. I rarely use vouchers for this sort of thing but recognise it’s not in place of another product, but merely an added extra. I appreciate that and I’m sure many other people will too. I won’t rate this voucher as I don’t believe it would be accurate as I haven’t used it.
That’s it for this month’s review of The Vegan Kind’s lifestyle box. I have been pretty pleased with it. Please keep an ear out for November’s beauty box review coming soon and thanks for reading.
‘Sparkly Pumpkin Bubble Bar’ by Lush
Today’s review is on another Lush Halloween product (and my last one for now). It is the ‘Sparkly Pumpkin Bubble Bar’ and it is vegan and cruelty free of course. You’ve probably guessed that it looks like a pumpkin and you aren’t wrong. You’ve probably also guessed it’s sparkly and indeed, you’d be correct there too. This means the dreaded glitter. Now I know glitter is actually extremely popular with most people. I don’t know why I particularly dislike it. It’s probably because it can be a nightmare to get rid of and I worry it will irritate my skin if I am soaking in it. In fact, glitter bothers me so much that I actively avoided using this bubble bar as I was convinced it would be traumatic for me. I was quite surprised though as you will see . . .
This is the first bubble bar I have reviewed on here. They vary from bath bombs, in that you crumble them into a running bath. They are basically solid bubble bath. They are still good for your skin and can sometimes change the colour of your bath water, like bath bombs. They produce a fantastic amount of bubbles if used correctly. If the bubble bar is particularly large, I often just use half (like I sometimes do with bath bombs). As bubble bars are designed to crumble, this makes it really easy to save some for another time.
The ‘Sparkly Pumpkin Bubble Bar’ was a lot better than I had anticipated. On crumbling it in my bath, I realised it wasn’t glitter all the way through (hurrah!) but only on the outside. That immediately made way for the possibility of enjoying this bath. Inside of the bubble bar is a bright, solid orange colour. Quite beautiful. I used the whole bar as it isn’t particularly big, and watched my bath water turn a dark orange colour.
On observation, I found there was hardly any glitter in the bath water. In fact, when cupping my hands full of water I couldn’t really spot any and it didn’t linger on my skin afterwards to my knowledge. I expected this bath to have quite a strong scent, despite the bar not smelling of much. Unfortunately I found it didn’t seem to smell of anything! Of course this made me double check the ingredients out of interest. It contains grapefruit, juniperberry and lime oils which did surprise me, as I thought it would be more pungent.
Overall it makes for a nice bath due to the colour and bubbles but doesn’t smell of very much at all.
6/10
‘Sparkly Pumpkin Bubble Bar’ is available at all Lush UK retailers during October. Please bear in mind stocks will be limited.
New Pleasure Panel review!
I have a new Pleasure Panel review over at Cara Sutra‘s (whose logo has a cute moustache at the moment). Please go and check it out but remember you have to be over 16 and it’s probably best not to read it if you’re a close friend/relative. It’s a Pjur product and I usually find them quite good. Click the banner below to read more.
‘Monsters’ Ball’ Lush Bath Bomb
I’m reviewing another Lush bath bomb today. I had quite a stock of them but I’m now down to my last one, so it won’t always be bath bombs reviews. This one is vegan and is part of their Halloween collection. It’s meant to look like a monster, hence the name ‘Monsters’ Ball’. It reminds me of one of the monsters off of that old cartoon ‘Aaahh Real Monsters!’ This is what it’s supposed to look like anyway:
But typically, mine didn’t and never does (does anyone’s?). That doesn’t matter too much really. I was initially drawn to it because it looks really cute in my opinion and I find strange things cute in general.
I found it to be quite a fast fizzer. I was overwhelmed with joy when the pink colour gave way to reveal a vivid blue, that ended up turning my bath a striking indigo colour. I really didn’t expect that! The ‘eyeball’ at a guess is made out of cocoa butter which is why it took so long to dissolve in comparison with the rest of the bath bomb. It adds a nice touch though, helping the bath soften and condition your skin. Olibanum oil also tones and relaxes your skin and there’s some lime and neroli oil to uplift and tone.
I found the scent to be quite unusual. I couldn’t place it at first but once things had started fizzing, I got a strong smell of citrus. That would be the lime oil! Overall, I found the smell quite perfumey but the lime is quite refreshing.
Unfortunately, this one is a bit of a bugger when it comes to staining. It left a pink ring around the tub which I managed to wipe off when I was still in the bath. It needs a good scrub afterwards to fully remove it though. It’s the first Lush bath bomb I’ve encountered in ages that has stained my bath tub. The lack of glitter makes up for it for me though (I worry about it irritating my skin when I’ve had a flare up).
I thoroughly enjoyed taking a bath with this cute little monster and I would happily buy it again. You can purchase it from UK Lush stores at £4.25 each, but bear in mind there will be a limited supply.
8/10
The Vegan Kind’s October Lifestyle Box
I’ve been a recipient of The Vegan Kind’s monthly lifestyle box since the beginning (or near enough). They are my favourite of all the vegan boxes, having tried a couple of different ones. The box costs £13.15 a month, including UK postage and packaging. They do also deliver worldwide for different postage and packaging rates. I also receive their beauty box which is every three months and costs £18.15 with UK postage and packaging. However, in this review I am going to be focusing on October’s lifestyle box that contains eight items and is their 36th lifestyle box.
The box arrived around a week after payment (TVK always charge on the first of every month) in their usual shoe box style, TVK stamped box. Sometimes at a glance you can tell if there’s a particularly big item before opening, as the box is slightly larger than normal but this month it was the standard size. On opening the box, you are presented with the information leaflet, your monthly recipe to add to your TVK folder (you receive one in month six of your subscription. I have two due to an error!) and your goodies nestled amongst shredded cardboard that my ratties always appreciate.
I was really pleased with this month’s box. It’s always like Christmas when it arrives. The first product I was chuffed to spot was BakedIn’s Sticky Toffee Pudding mug cake mix . . . three of them! Having tried this product before, I know it’s a quick and tasty hot pudding. You just add some vegan spread and milk and microwave. If you don’t have a microwave, you can use an oven! Simply add ice cream and it’s a scrummy dessert. It retails at £3.50 which isn’t a bad price for three pots.
The next item I spotted was Sweet Freedom’s Fruit Syrup in a 350g squeezy bottle. I’ve heard many people raving about this product and was tempted to buy some recently. It’s a good job I didn’t. It retails at £2.99 and is made from 100% apples, grapes and carob. Sweet Freedom pride themselves on not using additives, preservatives or chemical processing and, being low in fructose and at just 13 calories a spoonful, you can see why it’s such a hit! It tastes like a slightly fruitier golden syrup and I was pleasantly surprised at how versatile it is. You can pretty much add it to anything: tea, coffee, toast, porridge, ice cream yoghurt, the list goes on! It’s proven very popular with everyone, especially diabetics and dieters. You can find it in all good supermarkets and health food shops.
Next up is the vegan enamel pin by ‘All Glamour No Guts‘. It’s a small, nifty little sturdy badge that would look great on your jacket or bag. It retails at £5 and is made in a sweatshop free, environmentally friendly place. All Glamour No Guts only use vegan artists and they donate 10% of all their profits to Hillside Animal Sanctuary!
Which reminds me, every month The Vegan Kind donate 10p from each of their lifestyle boxes to an animal charity. This month was The Bodhi Shelter and Clinic based in Phuket. They rescue street dogs who are nursed back to health and then adopted! They never turn a dog away and also help local families with medical treatment for their dogs. Very inspiring!
Back to the products: Ten Acre‘s ‘When The Chilli Got Sweet’ crisps. I bloody love Ten Acre. Not only are their flavours tasty, they also make vegan cheese and onion crisps! All of their crisps are hand cooked and packed with crunch. These chilli crisps are very gorgeous. I always worry about spices as I am generally intolerant to them, but these crisps were subtle and I didn’t find them spicy at all! I also love their creative names and funky packaging. I desperately hope Ten Acre crisps will be available everywhere soon. They are my favourite and retail at 85p per 40g pack.
Getting near the end of the box now, I found an apple and banana fruit pouch by ‘Crushed‘. I quite like these fruit puree pouches. I’ve had one or two before by different brands and found them tasty and a good way of getting fruit into my system (I’m a big veg. eater but not so keen on fruit!). I have generally always sub-consciously assumed these pouches were for babies and young children so TVK have certainly debunked that myth. The packaging is colourful and aesthetically pleasing to all eyes, so I wouldn’t feel like I was walking around eating baby food at least. It’s a resealable lid which means you don’t have to finish it in one go (although I did) and the texture was nice and smooth with a good flavour. You can also freeze these pouches if you fancy a tasty ice lolly! These retail at around £1 per pouch.
Next up: The Jealous Life’s ‘Tangy Worms’ in a stylish 50g box. These retail at £2.49 and are worth every penny. They are delicious, colourful gummy sweets packed with a fruity punch. The sweets are free from artificial ingredients and are extremely moreish! Quite fitting in the run up to Halloween, although I don’t fancy sharing mine with anyone because I’m not nice like that . . .
Now we come to a 250ml carton of Oatly original. The Swedish brand have taken the plant milk scene by storm recently and do a variety of flavours in various sizes. Swedish oats are used to create a very nutritionally balanced and incredibly versatile oat drink that you can use instead of other plant milks/animal milks. I personally just drank this straight from the carton (there’s a straw provided) and despite not normally drinking milk this way, it was quite a nice change. Oatly is refreshing and has a similar consistency to soya, which means it’s not too watery. If I didn’t enjoy soya milk so much I would definitely be buying Oatly all the time.
The last product that was included in this month’s vegan box was a discount voucher to spend at ‘Natural Blender‘. They deliver weekly smoothie kits to your door packed with fresh fruit, plant milk and superfood ingredients. This voucher entitles you to £10 off your first box. I did not use this voucher as it was not something I was particularly interested in subscribing to, but if you enjoy regular smoothies made with fresh produce, this would probably be for you.
As I stated at the beginning of the review, each month TVK provide you with a recipe to add to your TVK folder. This month was a recipe for sweet potato brownies, courtesy of Natalie at The Tofu Diaries. I have added it to my ever-expanding collection. The information leaflet listing all this month’s products also provides exclusive discount codes for some of the products featured.
As you can see, October’s box really was a great treat for all subscribers. My ratties will be pleased to receive the leftover box and it’s shredded cardboard as they make wonderful nests and bedding for them. I hope you have enjoyed reading and thank you! Please stay tuned for more reviews.
8/10
To subscribe to The Vegan Kind’s monthly lifestyle box, please click here.
Lush’s ‘So White’ Bath Bomb
Apologies for the late review. I’ve finally grabbed a moment to sit down and write. It’s been pretty chaotic here. We’ve just finished decorating so now we are having to clean and piece everything back together. On top of that I’ve had an unwell rattie to look after but thankfully he should make a full recovery.
I’ve chosen to review another Lush bath bomb. This time it’s ‘So White’, part of their Christmas range (although that wasn’t why I chose it). I DID choose it because it smelled rather lovely when I gave it a sniff in the shop. Quite citrusy I thought. I’m fairly certain I’ve had it before as I recognised it.
As you might have guessed, ‘So White’ is a pun on ‘Snow White’. Lush do like their puns I have learned (see Never Mind The Ballistics). The bath bomb is completely white except for what I described as ‘a green *fanny’ ingrained on one side. I realised it was perhaps, meant to be a Christmas tree . . .
Not really knowing what to expect, due to the colour, I dropped it into my bath and watched it dissolve. It’s quite a fast fizzer but I quickly realised I had discovered a new favourite. That green fanny I was talking about? Yeah, it basically turned my entire bath an amazing radioactive green colour that didn’t stain the tub! Funnily enough, merely days ago I was saying how a toxic green coloured bath would be my idea of heaven!
The scent was not over-powering and in fact quite relaxing. Your senses are treated to this wonderful vibrant hue and a delicious mixture of crisp apple and orange flower absolute. There’s also neroli oil which is supposed to be uplifting and toning, rose oil; said to be balancing and restorative and bergamot oil; more uplifting and cleansing. You should be touching the ceiling by now with all this ‘uplifting’. But overall there’s a nice mixture of scents and ingredients that surprisingly contribute to a festive feeling. Perhaps not your typical ‘mince pies, Christmas pudding’ aromas, but more of a wintery, fresh smell.
I really enjoyed this bath bomb. The only thing that would make it better would be for the Christmas tree design to actually resemble a Christmas tree and not a female’s genitalia.
9/10
‘So White’ is available at all Lush UK retailers at £3.75 each.
*Any Americans reading, ‘fanny’ doesn’t mean ‘ass’ over here.
‘Autumn Leaf’ bath bomb by Lush
Today I am going to review another product made by Lush. It’s their new bath bomb ‘Autumn Leaf’ and has, as you might have guessed, been released in time for autumn.
I was drawn to the product by it’s pretty leaf shape and subtle pastel colours of mostly green and yellow. As usual, I checked and it is indeed vegan and cruelty free. I thought it was very different from the other bath bombs which is probably what drew me to it in the first place. Most of their bath bombs are spherical and I had to double check it wasn’t in fact a bubble bar (although the texture is obviously bath bomb, perhaps slightly more crumbly due to not being round).
On giving it a sniff in the shop and again, before dropping it in my bath, I could only really decide it was perfumey. Not over the top perfumey, but a nice subtle, soft smell that did sort of make me think of autumn and October. It smells pretty much the same when it’s dissolving, but stronger. I was treated to the smell of fresh grass and reminded of autumn leaves crunching underfoot, as I lay back in my hot bath. I could also smell bergamot and sandalwood oils, which definitely contributed to the memories of bonfires and cosying up in front of the fire on a cold October evening (with Hoggle of course). It’s definitely the sandalwood and bergamot oils that provide that perfume smell I was initially talking about. Beautiful smells that aren’t over-powering and are nice and relaxing. Real favourites of mine that are uplifting, cleansing and soothing. There’s also some neroli oil that’s quite toning and contributes to the positive feel.
The ‘Autumn Leaf’ bath bomb is beautiful to look at. I almost didn’t want to dissolve it . . . but I did. The colours provide a sort of marbled effect and the colour once it starts fizzing is vibrant. There are reds, yellows, oranges and greens. All traditional autumn colours. Once the bath bomb has completely dissolved, your bath is left a dark orange colour. In terms of actual fizzing, it starts off dissolving quite fast but I noticed it slowed down once it had reduced to quite a small amount. There is no glitter in this one, which I appreciate. It’s not that I don’t like glitter, but I don’t like washing in it and I don’t always like it on my skin when it’s not in good shape. I find a lot of Lush’s bath products contain glitter so it’s nice to find ones that don’t. I am pleasantly surprised to discover that Lush use biodegradable glitter though, which means no harm to the environment!
The ‘Autumn Leaf’ bath bomb is available at all good Lush UK stores for £3.75.
This one gets a 9/10!
To see a video of Lush’s ‘Autumn Leaf’ fizzing away, click here.
New Pleasure Panel review!
My most recent review for Cara Sutra’s ‘Pleasure Panel’ is now up! Head on over to her website to check it out!
Please remember this review will be adult themed, so no under 16’s.
Also probably best not to view if you’re family or a close friend of mine . . .
Reviews by PhilOakeysFringe 