Christmas + January Lush Haul

Over the Christmas period and at the beginning of January I collected a mass of Lush products. My basket went from being almost empty, save a few bath melts, to over flowing. As a self confessed Lush addict, I obviously had to have a tonne of Lush products on my Christmas List this year and true to form, my lovely family gave in to my addiction and spoilt me rotten with all the beautiful lush products. 

Frustratingly for you, most of these products I'm about to show you are now discontinued as they are seasonal items, but, this may be of use if you're a planner like me and like to be well prepared ahead of time for the seasonal releases... yes that's right, it's January and I'm already talking about Christmas 2017. 

Sleepy Body Lotion 215g - £13.95 full price (paid £6.98 50% off)

I'm not usually someone that is enthusiastic about the body lotion range in Lush. I'm pretty loyal to bath products and face & hair products and don't really tend to delve any deeper than that. However, when my local Lush posted up on instagram last week that they still had 50% off christmas stock in and I saw this little beauty in the photo, I knew I had to get my hands on it. 

Sleepy is the Body Lotion format of the oh so loved Twilight Scent family. Twilight, if you don't already know, is a musky Lavender scent that is just heavenly and incredibly soothing. Making it the perfect choice this aptly named Body Lotion. The Lavender is soft and subtle and there are notes of oat and vanilla that soften it, the body lotion is made with Cocoa Butter and melts into your skin providing perfectly scented hydration for hours. 

I really love using this before I go to bed or if I'm feeling a little bit stressed. The soothing lavender does wonders at calming you down and taking some of that tension out of your day. I think it's a shame that this is only a Christmas release as I would happily use it and repurchase it all year round. 

I for one am certainly keeping my fingers crossed that this makes a glorious come back Christmas 2017. 

Star Dust Bath Ballistic - £3.95 
I actually had 2 of these beautiful little stars but I couldn't help myself but use one of them before I got round to taking the photos. These silvery white stars fizz away in the bath to reveal a multitude of tiny multi-coloured confetti stars that float around in the water until they dissolve away. This bath bomb doesn't leave your water any cute colours but it does soften the water up a treat and smells like vanilla and cocoa with just a dash of something citrusy and sweet.

Do be warned though that this little star leaves traces of very finely milled silver glitter in the bottom of your bath, so be sure to clean the tub thoroughly after having your bath unless you wish to irritate anyone else that is planning on having a bath after you!

Butterbear Bath Ballistic - £1.95 

These little bears are quite common staples with a Christmas Lush haul, their bargain price makes them a popular stocking filler and the soft subtle vanilla smell and cute little faces are ideal for even the most conservative bath fan. 

Whilst these are not my favourite bath bombs, I do appreciate the soft vanilla scent and the moisturising cocoa butter that are heavenly when buddied up with a bubble bar for some colour and fun. 

These also share the same scent as the year-round Butterball Bath Ballistic, so if you know you like that then you are on for a winner. 

Golden Wonder Bath Ballistic - £4.25 

One of the more expensive Bath Bombs in the Christmas range, but a firm favourite with many Lush fans. This little present is just that, whilst covered in golden lustre on the outside, once you plop this into the bath a flurry of turquoise, blue and purple spills into the water, creating a twinkling turquoise bath and is almost dare I say it, galaxy like? 

The scent is zesty with sweet orange oil being a dominant scent, if you like the "celebrate" range or the "bubbly" shower gel then this is your bath bomb. 

Again this product has very finely milled golden lustre that will sit and dry on the bottom of your tub if you do not clean it immediately after your bath. However, it does not stay on your skin, so theres no worries of walking around looking like Edward Cullen. 

Father Christmas Bath Ballistic - £3.75 full price (paid £1.87 50% off)

Another product from the Lush sale, I've never had a Father Christmas Bath Bomb before and as this was half price it seemed like the perfect time to test it out. I've never been massively bothered by this product as it shares it's scent with Snow Fairy. Which, as you may or may not know... I hate. Yes, I hate Snow Fairy, it's too sickly and too sweet and just ... yuck. BUT I wanted to give this a chance as I've not owned any Snow Fairy for a good 5-6 years now and it could win me over one day. 

So scent wise, it's snow fairy, it's sweet, candyfloss like and just oh so sickly. However, as it's in a bath bomb format it's nice and easy to break up and use in Lush cocktails to add some candy-like sweetness, which is exactly what I intend to do!

Shoot for the Stars Bath Ballistic - £4.25 (paid £2.12 50% off) 

Of all the Christmas releases, this has got to be one of my favourites. The striking vivid blue with the contrasting gold stars is such a beautiful combination to look at and the smell definitely matches. The bright blue mellows out into a forest green when in the bath with golden orbs of oil that float on the surface. 

The scent is sweet and toffee like and is a member of the "Honey I Washed The Kids" family, meaning you can expect sweet honey & toffee, whilst not having that sickly cloying scent that some sweet, honeyed products can produce. 

Lord of Misrule - £3.95 

YES YES YES. This bath bomb is ABSOLUTELY amazing. I am totally obsessed with it. After trying it for the first time in 2016, I have already managed to purchase 4 and use 2. The remaining 2 are photographed above for you. This mysterious and beautifully scented bath bomb is deceptive as you expect a lime green bath, yet, once you place this ball of joy into the water you are greeted by a flurry of rich red foam and crackling popping candy. 

This is a total joy for the senses as it turns your bath a wonderfully luxurious Burgundy shade, the popping candy crackles and pops for a good 10 minutes after hitting the water and the warm scent drifts to your nose almost immediately. 

The smell is totally unique, think cracked black pepper, vanilla and tonka with a dash of sandalwood and you are getting close to the joy that is the Lord of Misrule. A highly raved about bath bomb I know, but honestly if you have the chance this Halloween to go in store and give it a sniff, I highly recommend you do so. It is divine. 

Northern Lights - £3.95 (paid £1.98 50% off) 

Northern Lights is a product I've been in two minds about, part of me is intrigued and I love a good purple bath, whilst the other half of me is questioning why Lush included a strong Jasmine scented product in their Christmas range... why give it that smell?? Personally I feel that the Jasmine scents are more suited to the Mothers Day & Easter ranges but that's just me. 

When I found this in the 50% off sale it was one that I really felt I should just try! I do really enjoy Jasmine scented baths (Flowering Tea from the 2016 Mothers Day range was a personal favourite!) so there isn't necessarily any reason for me to not enjoy this bath.

The main selling point for this bath bomb is that when you put it in the bath it is meant to mimic the famous Northern Lights or otherwise known as the Aurora Borealis. As it sinks into the water it creates a rich foam of Purple, Orange and Blue in an attempt to emulate the night sky. It's quite beautiful to watch so I do recommend you hunt out a youtube demo to see for yourself if you're not quite convinced. 

Mine however, seems to be a little faulty, as I have 2 orange faces and no blue.., how this affects the bath water & scent I will have to find out but I am a little disappointed as blue & purple baths are my favourite.  

Satsuma Bath Ballistic - £3.75 

This was an Oxford Street Exclusive this year and I believe the only OSE bath bomb released for Christmas! Satsuma, as the name suggests, is a fruity orange number that brightens up your bath just as much as a Satsuma brightens up your fruit ball in Winter. 

The warm fruity scent is a perfect seasonal choice and was a really welcome change from the bizarrely floral offerings this year from Lush. I feel that this would work PERFECTLY in a cocktail with Cinders, the warm satsuma mixed with the spicy cinnamon of Cinders would have been a dream come true in a bath... but Lush discontinued Cinders in 2016 so that is a dream that sadly won't come to fruition for a lot of us. 

As you can expect, this bath bomb leaves your water a rich warm orange to perfectly match the scent, it really is a you see what you get kind of product and I absolutely loved it.