Perfume Vaults: The Olive Branch

Today, I thought I'd do a little bit of shameless gloating! LOOK WHAT I OWN!


The Olive Branch is a shower gel that I truly love, and so I feel pratically honoured to own it in perfume for. Originally made for the Lush forum, I found this on eBay (Although a member of the forum, this was before my Lush time) This is exactly the scent of the shower gel, bang on!

For those of you who haven't smelt The Olive Branch yet, it's an eclectic mix of calm, and citrus. It's main notes are mandarin and bergamot, meaning that although it is fruity with a citrus punch, it is subtle in nature due to the inclusion of Vine Leaf. The perfumes lasting strength is also fantastic, it's one of those that goes for hours and hours and hours! Almost as if it won't give up! Lol! I'd say you'd get about 8-10 hours of wear out of this perfume. It's almost mouthwatering, this truly is the perfect perfume!

I cannot recommend this enough. If you can ever get your hands on a bottle, no matter the price, I say LEAP FOR IT! The only reason for me not giving this an ALL STARS Lush product title is the fact that it can't be bought anymore in stores or online, otherwise it would be in there in a heartbeat. Seriously, guys, hunt this down! You won't be dissapointed.

Lush ALL STARS: Sympathy For The Skin

So, my blog is doing well and better than I'd expected which I love! Thank you to everyone whos' been reading thus far! I've made some big steps, one being the addition of a twitter account linked to the blog (@freshmadelush) where I tweet funny things, and remind people every time I post, and then there's also this new series I'm going to be starting. I'm going to be calling it, Lush ALL STARS (fans of the drag race can unite here!) This series will collate the best of the best Lush products into one smooth category for your viewing pleasure. I don't yet have a frequency at which I plan to post this series, but for now it will be as and when I find a product worthy. So, without further ado, let's begin!

As you can tell by this title, the first product making it's way into this list is, Sympathy For The Skin Hand and Body Lotion.

This cream packs a hella good punch of moisture! I use this all over my body in a morning, and I'm good to go for the whole day. It's predominant ingredient is Fair Trade Vanilla Pod Infusion. Besides this smelling absolutely fantastic, it has a beautifully softening effect on the skin. This, partnered with the Almond Oil, and Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, means this lotion can really deeply moisturise, without feeling at all greasy.

For me, the best part of this lotion is the inclusion of Bananas. Bananas, in the context of cosmetics, are an emollient (Meaning it helps to keep moisture in the skin) and are also highly moisturising and softening, meaning skin is flexible, and getting rid of that tight, dry feeling!

The scent of this is a mix of Lemon, Rose, Sandalwood, Labdanum, and Vanilla, but honestly, all I can smell is cookie dough. The perfume of this is so absurdly delicious. It's strong enough to wear on it's own, but partnered with Vanillary perfume, and you are literally a walking bakery.

Members of the Lush ALL STARS will not receive a rating out of 5. They are an ALL STARS product because they score a 6.

Review: D'fluff Strawberry Shaving Soap

Shaving is perhaps the most ignored part of the Lush store, and for good reason really, is there anything 'exciting' about a shaving cream? Perhaps not. The answer Lush are giving to this is D'fluff, a strawberry milkshake scented shaving soap.

So, how do you use it? Wet the area you wish the shave, scoop some D'fluff up in your hand, lather it up on the area you wish to shave, and then use that as your shaving cream. Simple enough. This is a product that I really didn't want to like, simply because 'it's boring' but alas, I've fallen in love.

First of all, this contains SO many ingredients to soften and hydrate the skin, which for anyone with dry skin like me, is a MUST when shaving! We have; Coconut Oil, Rapeseed Oil, Glycerine, Cocoa Butter, Strawberries, and Fresh Organic Free Range Eggs Whites, to name to just a few.

This helps to combat after shave fluffy-ness and dryness, by hydrating and smoothing.

This also contains Rose Absolute, which is perfect for avoiding post-shave irritation due to it's soothing nature.

Personal experience of the product? I find it easy to use in the shower, I use it to shave my underarms and belly (I can't stand body hair!) and not my face, I think it might be a little bit too rich for my sensitive skin, but go ahead and try it for yourself. I do notice a notable difference between D'fluff and any drugstore bought shaving cream. It's thick, creamy and luxurious. My only downside is that recently, Lush seem to have added chunks of Strawberries inside of there. This makes it a little bit messy to use at times, especially if in a rush, but apart from that I cannot fault it. I've not had an ingrown hair since using it, and oddly, I find I don't need to shave as often (once every week, as opposed to once every three days) 

I would rate this product a 4.5 out of 5. The only reason it's not a 5 is because of the recent addition of strawberries. Fucking god damn strawberries.

My Current Hair Routine For Thick Unruly Hair

Today I'm going to take you through a really simple routine for hair like mine. Thick and unruly, my hair has a mind of it's own. I have a lot of fly-aways and flicks in my hair where it does not go the way I want it to, and sometimes struggle with grease and oil. This routine would also work really well on thin hair with the same troubles, but don't go as heavy with the conditioner would be my advice!

Step 1 is Big Shampoo. Big is an ultra clarifying and volumising shampoo due to it's high content of Sea Salt. Massaging this into the scalp will add bounce to hair that often falls flat, I love to really work this one in!
Big also contains Lemon and Lime, which will help to add shine to the hair, making it look vibrant and luscious (Pun!)
It also contains Coconut Oil, which will soften the hair, making it more sleek, and taming fly-aways.

Big has almost a jelly-like consistency, with the chunks of Sea Salt floating throughout. It's super easy to use, all you do is scoop out a small amount in your hand, and rub it in to your hair/scalp! It has a really beautiful, yet neutral sea-side fragrance to it, which lingers in the hair too. This is one of the best-sellers, and I have no reason to ask why! If you have thick or even fine hair, that often falls flat and flumps, you need this!

Step 2 is Happy Happy Joy Joy Conditioner (HHJJ) This one is perfect if, like me, you find Veganese too light, and American Cream too strong! This has a luxurious base of Almond Milk, Rose Oil, and Orange Blossom Water, all helping to smooth, add shine, and to protect the hair.
Perhaps the best thing about HHJJ is the scent! It's a mélange of Orange Blossom, Neroli, and Grapefruit. Fans of Orange Blossom Perfume, Sakura Bath Bomb, or Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub will love this! This conditioner is perfumed, and so the scent really does last in the hair. Sometimes after using this, I find I don't feel I need to wear perfume that day, which for me, is a big deal.
The high content of oil in this conditioner, means it lightly coats the hair. Adding gloss and shine, without weighing the hair down, and making it look over-conditioned, or greasy.

Step 3 is really simple. After you've washed everything out, spray Sunny Day generously throughout the hair before blow-drying. This is going to tame those damn fly-aways and stop hair from getting so tangled. Out, damned knot!
It contains Honey to soften the hair, and moisturise it. The number one cause of fly-aways is dry hair, so this really helps as an active ingredient, there's also Lemon Juice to add shine, and Rosewood Oil to tame hair down and make it behave! Sunny Day can also be used on dry hair, though I find it does work best on wet hair.

I'm quite into breaking the cost down for you readers recently, so the subtotal for this routine is:
Big Shampoo: 330g/£12.75
Happy Happy Joy Joy: £9.75/100g (This one IS worth it, I promise!)
Sunny Day (Not Vegan) £9.95/100g

Lets Talk... Temple Balms

For those of you who don't know, Lush has a spa! *Angels sing* There are 10 treatments available over 8 locations in the UK. I've had three of them, The Validation Facial, The Tailor Made, and The Synaesthesia. All of them leaving me feeling fantastic and grounded. I will talk more about the spa in another post, today I'm going to talk about the Temple Balm products used in some of the treatments, that are actually available to buy, only in the stores with a Spa inside.

There are two available, and if I remember rightly (My store is not a spa store) they retail for about £5.75. I own both of them, Whoosh, and Dream Time, both scented with the corresponding products in the store.
So, how do you use them? You warm them up with your finger, and apply them to your temples (I do wrists and sides just below forehead) to provide relief or stimulation. They both contain different essential oils, designed to soak into your skin and 'do a thing'. Do I find they do a thing? No.

Whoosh is designed to wake you up and get you going on your day, which scent-wise I agree, however I don't think the concept of the balm works. This works very well as aromatherapy (smelling it straight from the tin) in a morning, or even in an exam, but I don't think as a balm, it works for the intended purpose. I use this mainly as a solid perfume actually, as Whoosh is a lovely, zesty scent, which is very clean and classy. I don't think this one is worth the money.

Dream Time, however, I do think works. This one is naturally calming and is scented with the Dream Cream scent, or the Dream Time bath oil, if you're lucky enough to have Oxford Street as your local Lush store. This one I apply to my head and within minutes I'll be calm and ready for bed. I find this one amazing for nerves and anxiety in daily life, as a little bit of this on the wrists of the forehead does wonders to soothe and rationalise my thinking and my nervousness. I actually really do love Dream Time. This one is available in the Lush Spa gift set that is sold in all stores for £33.95.

All in all, I'm not entirely sure a Temple Balm is a real thing, I think it's a clever marketing strategy and is a good money maker, and although I do love the Dream Time Temple Balm, I'm not sure I'd pay for it again, as I just don't think they're up to par with the rest of the amazing products Lush has to offer.

Review: Grease Lightning Spot Treatment

Digging into the holy bucket of Lush products for todays post. Grease Lightning is a strong contender for best spot treatment to work for me. Reducing red unsightly spots down to smaller, flesh-coloured minor bumps in a matter of minutes, this has quickly become part of my daily routine!

So, what's in it? A whole lot of Tea Tree, Aloe Vera, and Witch Hazel. All natural anti-bacterials and soothers. A study was done on facial care and it was found in terms of acne, products containing 5% of tea tree or more worked exactly the same as products with 5% of Benzyl Peroxide (A leading spot buster found in most strong drugstore treatments) So with Grease Lightning, you're taking the need for chemicals right away, leading to a more natural, and better for you, skin routine.

Aloe Vera is also fantastic for soothing for when spots are especially red and puffy! Aloe really helps to reduce redness, and get skin back to it's normal condition, it's for this reason that Grease Lightning has a great second use as an after-sun!

It's a jelly like consistency, and so is really easy to use, and especially easy to dispense, as you can truly get only as much as you need, which is never a lot. The small amount on my hand would do your face twice over, so you really do get a lot of bang for your buck with this one. It comes in a nifty small little pump too, meaning you can easily take it with you and pop one in your bag for during the day if emergency strikes!

I see no reason to not rate this product a 5 out of 5, it does exactly what you'd expect and more! Plus it contains my favourite ingredient, Lavender, which helps to even out skin-tone and combination skin in general (patches of dry/oily skin), which I desperately need!

Gorilla Perfume: The President's Hat

Okay, so if by now, you do not know my love of Lush Perfume, then please imagine how excitable a dog gets when it sees food, now replace the dog with me, and the food with Lush Perfume.
President's Hat is an online exclusive perfume (available in Islington Gorilla Perfume branch, and the Oxford Street store) released as part of Volume 3.

This perfume contains Patchouli, however couldn't be more different from Karma, the signature scent of Lush, a mix of Orange flower and Patchouli herb. The President's Hat is a cocktail of Vanilla, Myrrh, and Patchouli.

Myrrh gives off a homely incense-like smell, giving it a powdery yet full note, whilst Patchouli offers depth to the fragrance making it almost seem 3D in scent, giving it depth and maturity.

The Vanilla note provides a sherbert feel to the perfume, delicate yet mild is a good way to describe the perfume. It's sweet and foody with an earthy kick. The perfume lasts about 3-4 hours on the skin, and 4-5 hours on clothing or hair. I always find perfume lasts longer when sprayed onto clothes or the back or hair, so this may be why.

The product that I find has the closest scent would be Ladyboy perfume, a now discontinued fragrance which I truly loved. The banana note in that has been replaced with patchouli in The President's Hat in my opinion.

For all the above reasons, I would rate this product a 4 out of 5, again due to the lasting time. I wish it lasted longer, however I love the scent, no matter how short its duration.

Lush Kitchen: Slammer Shower Gel

As well as producing exclusive original products like The Comforter Body Lotion, the Lush Kitchen is also responsible for bringing back old favourites that have been given the axe over the years, as is the case with Slammer Shower Gel.

Slammer was given the axe many moons back, but often makes an appearance on the Kitchen, and every time it does, I do like to take advantage! Slammer is a pure 'wake-up' scent, it is heavy on lime and salt in fragrance and so often gets compared with a margarita. If Happy Hippy is too mellow for you, I'd recommend trying this bad boy! Due to it's zesty and uplifting scent, it is perfect for nursing a hangover in the shower in the morning, to get you up and feeling like a human again.

This is one of the more watery shower gels, however I can forgive this as it lathers up really well, and you don't need a lot. I never feel like I'm wasting product when I'm using it, so that can only be a good thing! The colour itself is just fun too, all in all it's a funky shower gel with a fantastic scent. Lime is also really brightening for the skin, so it's perfect for those summer months when you want to give your skin a bit more of a radiant glow.

I'd rate this product a 4.5 out of 5, solely due to it's consistency. Although not really an inconvenience, I do love a thicker gel. Can't fault at all with the smell, it's strong, and certainly lasts on skin!

Lush Kitchen: Prince Shower Gel

When seeing this shower gel listed on the kitchen, I wasn't totally sure what the outcome would be. A shower gel, scented after a shaving cream?... I ordered some anyway because I knew I liked the smell of Prince Shaving Cream, but wasn't totally sure what to expect, as I can't say it's a particularly memorable scent. I was pleasantly surprised with what arrived.

To answer any questions, it is infact the same scent as the Prince Shaving Cream, although I feel the scent is much much stronger within the gel, whilst not amazed by it, I really do like it! To anyone who hasn't smelt the shaving cream, it's quite similar to Frozen, but not as strong on the Neroli, it's more lemony, and has vetivert in it, making the scent seem almost more 'mature'

There's a lot of Orange in here too; Orange Flower Absolute, Mandarin Oil (Mandarins are oranges and I won't let anyone tell me differently) and Sweet Orange Oil. Which makes the scent really uplifting and positive, I feel this does come through, but not as strong as something like The Brightside, or Sun perfume, it's just kind of there. There's some Sea Salt in here too which is lovely and softening on the skin, so I can imagine this is perfect for Summer when you want a bit of extra TLC for your body.

Overall, I'd rate this a 3 out of 5. It's not terribly exciting, it's just kind of a nice shower gel. It's nothing that screams 'LUSH' to me. I would buy it again, but maybe only one bottle. I wouldn't crazily stock up like I would with something like Slammer. Try it yourself, and see how you feel, I can see it being a favourite for some people!

Review: Roots Hair and Scalp Treatment

I've been feeling a love for the minty tingle recently, and so have decided to whack out my pot of Roots! Story time; I went for my hair cutting once after work because I needed it doing desperately and my 'regular' place didn't open that week because the owner was on holiday, but I couldn't wait. It needed doing. I decided to try somewhere upstairs from where I work in the shopping centre. First lesson learnt; Don't get your hair-cut in a shopping centre. I sat down in the chair and told the lady what I liked and how I usually have it done. I must have been talking in French as she did not listen to a word, and instead pretty much shaved the whole sides of my head, giving me a generic dickhead teenager hair cut. Lesson two; Be loyal to your hairdressers, other ones try to hurt you. This haircut was so short and I hate it when it's short. I quickly dashed back to work and grabbed Roots to help out.

Roots is a hair treatment that is pre-dominantly used on the scalp. It contains three different types of mint to stimulate the scalp, and aid hair growth. So if you're struggling with shorter hair that you're wanting to grow, or make look more thick, roots is for you. When it's on the scalp you really can feel the mint, it's very tingly (This is good, it's doing its job!) which stimulates hair follicles over time.

It's recommended for people with thine hair (thin and fine), as it also has honey in there which is fantastic for thickening, and adding moisture. There's also some Olive oil in there to add strength and versatility to the hair, making it appear thicker and fuller.

Apply this before a wash, to the scalp. Really massage it into the scalp as this helps the mint get to work easier, it really works it in this way. Wash it out after about twenty minutes, and voila! Your hair will not instantly grow in the shower, however you should notice a difference after about a week or two. I only use a small amount, as should you, as it is needed mainly on the scalp, and so you should be able to get a good weeks worth of uses out of it, if used daily. Some people use this every fortnight which would work well too, I tested it out daily as I was desperate for my hair to grow!

I would give this product a 5 out of 5, because it works excellently, I've never had an issue with my hair looking oily afterwards, and it did exactly what I needed it to do! Simply fantastic. I am, and will continue to be a fan of Lush hair care. Mark Constantine, CEO of Lush, is a trained trichologist (trichology is the study of hair) and has been studying hair for over 30 years, so he really knows what he's talking about!

My First Ever Lush Products

Some serious fetus Lush feels today, I thought what better way to spice up my posts a bit more than talk about what I got on my first ever visit to Lush! I actually now work for the company, and our first ever products are a big talking point in the staff room, so please don't think I'm sad for remembering them!

Technically, I first bought an 'Out of this world' gift set for my friend, I remember it being £5.95, and containing a Space Girl Bath Bomb (RIP) and a star shaped piece of Rock Star Soap. However, that wasn't for me, so in this post I will be counting the things I bought in my first visit to Lush to buy things for myself!

1) Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub - This was love at first sniff. I'm a big fan of seaside, clean, neutral scents, and so this ticked literally all of the boxes! I'm more of a shower taker than a bath just because I don't ever have much time in the morning, and at night time I'm lazy, so this was a perfect way for me to add a bit of luxury to my shower routine. 

I will use this scrub forever, even when I eventually leave the company, I'm positive I'll still come back for this. The sea salt inside of here is sourced from Portugal, and is extracted using a medieval method from the sea, beyond that awesome story, it's ultra softening for the skin, and gives a good buff without clogging up the water supply with nasty microbeads! Plus, the scent lasts on the skin too, which is an added bonus due to it's cherry blossom and mimosa fragrance... Yum!

2) Sweet Lips Lip Scrub - This picture is my own, however is the kitchen remake due to it being sadly discontinued. Sweet Lips is exactly like the other lip scrubs, and so is nothing overly exciting. However, this one tastes like chocolate and fudge and is therefore everything I want in my life and more.

The lip scrubs are all made from a base of jojoba oil and castor sugar, meaning after scrubbing well into the lips, you can literally lick it straight off and eat it. This makes for a delicious snack mid-day! (When working in my store during Christmas, I would often go over and have a finger scoop of lip scrub to keep me going. True. Story.) Lush now carries 3 flavours: Bubblegum, Mint Julips, and Popcorn.

3) Vanilla In The Mist Soap - Photo credit to AllThingsLushUK, I have shamelessly nicked this photo as I sadly don't actually have any of this soap to photograph for you guys anymore. This soap is my one true Lush soap I'm sure. I check the Lush Kitchen EVERY week to see if it's being made, and it's only been done once so far since the start. I didn't have a good job back then so couldn't afford to get myself even one piece, and I'm still sad about it. Vanilla in the mist was coffee and vanilla heaven, it smelt warm and homely, and created a really luxurious and creamy lather on the body. The vanilla in there made it really softening on the skin too, oh I miss it so!

So that rounds of my first ever Lush haul! I'm feeling many Lush baby/fetus vibes now, if anybody wants to join in, just pop it in the comments (I'm not even sure I have them turned on) I'd love to hear other peoples first products!

Lush Kitchen: The Comforter Body Lotion

IT'S HAPPENING, IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING! THE COMFORTER BODY LOTION HAS BEEN MADE!

The Lush Kitchen is a magical place, where discontinued, or totally newly imagined products are made for a limited time. Click here to read some more and find out the details, but don't click there if you value your wages and want to save your money. You have to be quick to swipe them, or they've gone! I was lucky enough to grab this bad boy before it went, and it smells exactly like The Comforter, which is my one true love within Lush scents. (For those of you who don't know, The Comforter smells like vimto, it's blackcurrant mixed with cassis which makes for a very warm and fruity scent)

So, on to the lotion itself. It's a little bit of a let down. Although containing Fair-trade organic cocoa butter and almond oil, two common ingredients for adding moisture to skin or hair, I don't find the lotion to be particularly moisturising. Whilst it does leave the body scented, it's purpose of a lotion is not totally realised. It's first ingredient is infact water, which makes me think it was created and watered down for the purpose of more profit, but hey, demand was there, who can blame Lush for thinking economically?

It's for this reason that I'd rate the product a 2.5 out of 5. Incredibly happy and emotional though I am about being able to smell like The Comforter, it doesn't actually moisturise to what I'd expect from a lotion at all.