Not much space on this blog is devoted to writing about beauty products. Make up, yes. But beauty products as in deodorants, skin care, shower gels, body lotions and the like haven’t been featured on here much. The main reason being that when I like something I simply stick to one thing and don’t change up my routine. I literally use most beauty products for years until they stop working for me for whatever reason. So today is an exception. Today is all about the Lush limited edition Christmas products 2012.
Massage bars & bath bombs @ Lush The Hague
On Wednesday evening the Lush store in The Hague hosted a VIP event for which you could sign up for free. From 7 PM till 9 PM a select group could already preview the new limited edition products that will be released as part of this year’s Christmas collection. Lush’ Christmas collection is infamous, with cult favorites and newly released products that sell out fast. The best part about the event was that the products do not go on sale in stores until today, while I already smelled, felt and experienced all of the new products. The added bonus: I could already purchase the products too.
The store was divided into three sections and in groups of 6 – 7 people we were introduced to all the products that are part of the Christmas collection. There was a table with fruity products, one with sweet products and one with relaxing products. I started my round at the table with relaxing products and this was by far my favorite of the bunch. I ended up going home with three of the products.
From left to right: Bubble Beard bubble bar, Melting Snowman bath melt, Christmas Eve bath bomb, Twilight shower gel, Let the Good Times Roll and Bûche de Noël cleansers, Midnight Massage, and Snow Cake soap
At each station we were given a snack to eat. Here it was popcorn as one of the facial cleansers contains popcorn flakes to scrub your face clean. Since I don’t have a bath (bummer!) and I don’t really like using soap, I passed up on those products, but all of it smelled heavenly. I especially liked the Melting Snowman bath melt (makes your skin creamy soft), the Bûche de Noël facial cleanser (with real cranberries and brandy), the Twilight shower gel (with lavender oil infusion) and the massage bar (with Jasmin, one of my favorite scents). Snowcake also smelled heavenly (after almonds) but isn’t anything too special in my opinion.
My group then moved on to the sweet station which I must say had some of the most extraordinary products in the collection. We were fed cotton candy, which was very apt. I am not one for sweet scents though. They usually just make me feel nauseous. So even though Snow Fairy shower gel is a cult favorite, the smell of bubble gum candy didn’t entice me in the slightest.
From left to right: Candy Mountain bath bomb, Golden Wonder bath bomb, Magic Wand bubble bar and North Pole soap.
I didn’t get to take a picture of all these products, so Snow Fairy shower gel, Popcorn lip scrub and So White bath bomb are missing from the total view. Magic Wand bubble bar smells just like Snow Fairy and thus didn’t really catch my attention. My favorite of this bunch was North Pole soap. It comes in pink and white. The pink side smelling sweet like chocolate, the white side smelling fresh like peppermint. But the stars of this table are the bath bombs. So White and Golden Wonder to be exact.
So White bath bomb
Trying out the products was a lot of fun. So White bath bomb had to be thrown into the basin to mimic it being thrown in a bathtub that fills itself with water. It explodes (like a bomb) in the water to release white and pink colors and a sweet smell. The smell reminded me of the candy canes you hang in your Christmas three (the red and white ones) but with less peppermint.
Golden Wonder bath bomb
What can I say about Golden Wonder? Shaped as a present, this bath bomb starts of disintegrating when you gently put it in the water. It first releases gold and white. The gold is sparkly and even contains tiny gold stars. But as any good present does, the real surprise is on the inside. Once the outer layer is gone, the bath bomb releases blue, green and purple hues that foam up in a very nicely scented foam.
Last but not least, I was escorted to the fruity table. With again some cult favorites and some new stars that will surely be bestsellers in no time. Again, some of my favorite products are in this bunch.
From left to right: Ponche shower gel, Rocket bubble bar, Sandy Santa sugar scrub, Northern Lights soap, Punch soap, Snow Globe soap, Cinders bath bomb and Santa’s Sack bath bomb
This table again held some amazing products. Sandy Santa scrub smells lovely. It is infused with sandalwood which gives it a nice warm smell. Snow Globe soap smells fresh and lemony. Punch soap and Ponche shower gel smell identical: like fruit punch with a hint of tequila to warm it up and make it very suitable for the cold days to come. Very apt: the snack for this table was fruit punch, be it non-alcoholic. Cinders is another products on this table that should be mentioned. This bath bomb smells like a dying camp fire and when put in water even crackles like one.
All in all, I had a great evening and of course I couldn’t leave without buying a few products. Here’s what I got and why:
Lush Christmas 2012 purchases: Ponche & Twilight shower gels, Bûche de Noël facial cleanser, Midnight Massage massage bar.
I love Lush shower gels. My favorite from their regular collection is Flying Fox which is my go to late night shower scent. I always sleep like a baby whenever I use that, but it’s been running low and I’m about to use it up. Since the Christmas collection had two great shower gels in it, I couldn’t pass them up. Ponche smells like oranges with a hint of cinnamon and tequila. It reminds me of a fruitier version of last year’s Glögg which was one of my favorites. The smell of the alcohol also makes for a great night’s sleep. Like taking a night cap without consuming the alcohol.
The minute I saw the previews of this year’s Christmas collection I knew I wanted Twilight shower gel. And here’s one of the reasons why:
Twilight shower gel
It has tiny pieces of glitter in it! Making it a sublime looking deep purple with a bit of sparkle and the smell! Oh my, it’s delicious. If lavender isn’t your thing you won’t like this, but I find it smells heavenly.
Bûche de Noël facial cleanser
Another Lush product I swear by is Angels on Bare Skin. I use this products to give my face a bit of an extra cleanse under the shower 2 – 3 times a week. This is the Christmas version of that. With bits of almonds for a gentle scrubbing sensation, infused with whole cranberries, seaweed, brandy (!) and a bunch of great natural and nourishing oils. It promises to be better for that dried out winter skin and it sure felt like heaven when I tried it out.
Midnight Massage massage bar
Lush’ massage bars are pure heaven. I simply use these instead of body lotion. And let me tell you this Jasmin scented massage bar is like Flying Fox in massage bar form. I normally use Wiccan which is again one of my go to products to help sleep even better on those cold winter nights. It warms me right up after a nice and warm shower. But since that has broken and is spilling its little beans all over the place, I’ve decided to replace it with this.
Are you planning on buying any of the Lush Christmas products? If so, which ones? Let me know in a comment below!