The Body Shop - Hand Cleanse Gel in Coconut - Review

Quick Summary: A delicious smelling and quick drying hand cleanser! 

The price...

For £2.50 for 60ml of hand gel the price is about right! It is definitely on the more expensive side of hand gels but currently in the UK if you want a hand sanitiser that doesn't smell like pure alcohol you are going to have to pay a bit more for it! They are currently 3 for 2 though so I got three of these in three different scents (Coconut, Pink Grapefruit and Strawberry) for £5.00 which I did think was a much better deal! 

From the outside...

The look of this packaging isn't particularly impressive, I wasn't actually drawn to the hand cleansers in The Body Shop, they were in a wicker basket and not well-advertised, the only reason I knew they existed is because I saw them online recently and wanted to try them myself! Taking a picture of this product to try and make it look appealing was actually very hard, so I just snapped a plain picture, no fancy angles or anything today!

The good...

This smells incredible! To me it smells almost identical to 'Malibu' which is up there in one of my favourite alcoholic treat! When you first smell the product it smells really strong of alcohol but this does disappear slightly once you rub it in, personally I like my hand sanitisers to smell at least slightly like alcohol as alcohol is mostly what kills the bacteria!

You don't have to apply too much of this product to cover your hands, other hand gels I feel like you need to use a much larger amount for the same effect, so although I've only been using this a couple of days- I'm hoping it might last for a few weeks at least with everyday use! 

It also dries really fast compared to some cheaper hand gels so it's really good for on-the-go as it doesn't take much time out of your day at all to apply! I haven't found this hand gel to make my hands dry or sore but I am a very lucky person and my hands seem to be able to deal with a lot and not get dry, so I can't really comment on that too much.

The bad...

I can't actually find on the internet or anywhere that this hand gel is actually proven to kill bacteria! It must have some anti-bacterial properties as it contains alcohol but it has no '99% bacteria killed' guarantee anywhere, even on the actual body shop website, the question of whether or not the product is anti-bacterial enough to be able to used in the workplace remains unanswered! As an ex-student nurse (Never even got past my first semester, it's such hard work! So super congratulations to all you nurses and student nurses still there!) the one thing that really stuck in my mind was cleanliness and feeling like I can't actually trust whether the product is cleaning my hands or not really makes me think that maybe it's not any good at all! At least not for serious use!

Overall...

I'm still going to use this product as it does leave my hands feeling clean and I'm sure it's cleansing enough for most peoples hand cleaning needs (as long as you remember to wash your hands properly too!) However, unless anyone can provide any solid evidence it's really powerful at killing bacteria, I would not recommend this product if your job or lifestyle needs mean that your hands need to be super-duper clean!

Thanks for reading, don't forget to wash your hands! :D

Zoe

xxx

How to use a Bubble Bar- Lush Cosmetics - Mini Guide

Any really dedicated Lush Cosmetics fan will have their own personal method for using a bubble bar! However, they often forget that to the average person, a bubble bar is a confusing experience! I mean, why have bubble bath in a solid form? I'll tell you why- because it REALLY works! 

A mini lush Comforter bubble bar from the 'Bunty' gift set from Lush Cosmetics! 

So... why solid bubble bars? Why not a liquid bubble bath? 

One of Lush's main priorities other than making you smell great is to protect our environment, as she is pretty lovely and plastic bottles don't do her much good! No packaging = No waste = Happy planet! I also find that the bubble bars work better than liquid bubble bath, as long as you know how to use them! 

How expensive are bubble bars?

This changes a lot but they range from about £3.00 to £4.50 and this depends on the size! It probably seems like a lot, as it's similar to the price of a bath bomb and hey, bath bombs are way more fun right? True but bubble bars can be cut into pieces and used more than once! (unless you are feeling particularly greedy!) Meaning they are still a pretty expensive way to bathe in bubbles but not quite as ridiculous as people are thinking!

How much of a bubble bar should I use?

This is such a difficult question! It depends on the bubble bar! I would personally cut a full size 'Comforter' bubble bar into about 6 pieces and a smaller bubble bar such as a 'Karma' bubble bar into about 3 pieces! However this is up to you! How bubbly do you like your bath? Also how powerful is your bathroom tap? 

The more powerful the water pressure- the better the results! 

If you have jet taps or a power shower you could probably use even smaller amounts of a bubble bar than this! 

METHOD ONE: Crumble under the tap!

Probably the classic method of lush bubble bars, you run the water at the perfect temperature, crumble the bar under the running tap, maybe 'swooshing' around the water as you do it! Simple, works well enough! Only con to this is if your taps don't run at a nice temperature (mine don't, it's hot or cold) is you could hurt yourself!

METHOD TWO: Tights!

This method is a bit experimental, you cut off the end of some old tights, pop the bubble bar into the tights and tie it to the tap and let the bubbles flow out! This method is good because you don't have to constantly have your hands under the tap but it's probably also the most effort as nobody wants to have to 'prepare' to have a bubble bath!

METHOD THREE: Sieve! 

Nice and simple, put your bubble bar piece in a sieve and hold under the tap! Stops your hand getting wet and lets the bubbles flow! I think this method probably gives the most bubbles, whilst tights and crumbling methods are pretty equal! This is the method I use the most often as the more bubbles- the better!

Bubble bars are a colourful, environmentally-friendly and exciting way to bathe in mountains of bubbles just like the movie stars! I love them! 

Sparkly Pumpkin Bubble Bar- Lush Cosmetics- Review

Quick summary: A super glittery bath time friend that makes your bubbles gorgeous and your bath the most autumnal it has ever been!

The Sparkly Pumpkin Bubble Bar is super cute, although it lacks a smiley face, you can still tell it is a sweet little pumpkin and it manages to smell fruity and autumnal, which I thought was an almost impossible combination- until now!

This bubble bar is £3.50, which definitely isn't cheap! The bubble bars have an advantage over bath bombs in that they can be chopped up into pieces and used more than once! I split my pumpkin into three pieces and enjoyed 3 very bubbly baths!

From the outside...

The pumpkin is small and sweet, I guess, if you have a dirty mind, it can be likened to a glittery butt-hole, but as long as you just focus on it being a pumpkin, you should be fine! (You will never see it the same again, will you?!) It is VERY glittery and as any lushies know, Lush are generous with their glitter, it gets everywhere! So it's one to try to avoid touching too much as you will have some very glittery fingers!

The smell of this bubble bar is lovely! Honestly my favourite scent in the Lush Halloween 2014 collection! Lush describes it as warming juniperberry, lime and grapefruit but honestly I think it smells like IRN-BRU for the bath- amazing!! 

In the bath...

Once you've held your bubble bar under the tap, the bath turns a slightly halloween orange colour but it wasn't the highlighter neon orange I was expecting from the colour of the pumpkin! The lighter orange was a really nice surprise and it was really pretty! The bubbles actually smelled of the bubble bar too which was very lovely when you are surrounded by them! This bubble bar did a pretty good job at making bubbles, I find with bubble bars it can be a bit hit and miss as to how many bubbles it will actually produce but all three baths with this beauty had a large amount of bubbles for me to enjoy!

I did repurchase this bubble bar and I am saving it for when I am in need of a lovely autumnal bath that smells like one of my favourite drinks!

The Lush Cosmetics Halloween 2014 range, excluding Fairy Ring soap, which I didn't purchase. 

Hope I've not made you too jealous!
Zono
xxx

Sparkler Bath Bomb- Lush Cosmetics- Review

Quick summary: An incredibly glittery bath bomb experience with a lovely rose jam scent- I just wish it was any colour other than yellow!

The Sparkler bath bomb has all the right ingredients for a cosy winter bath, a lovely scent, some peachy glitter and performs a bit of a show!

This bath bomb is £3.50 from Lush Cosmetics UK which is the price of most of their bath bombs at the moment, they aren't exactly cheap but as a treat they really work wonders for cheering you up or rewarding you for a great day- or even maybe consoling you on a bad day! Once you get into Lush products like I do almost every occasion can somehow justify a Lush product!

From the outside...

The bath bomb is very pretty on the outside, a bright sunshine yellow with a darker tip, just like a real sparkler! It is definitely a product people are drawn to in the shop because of it's shape and vibrancy! The smell is pretty impressive too, in one of Lush's signature scents, rose jam- this one is pretty easy to describe for non-lush folk too, imagine a strong jam made out of roses! It is a very strong scent though and can be off-putting for some people! Scents are a very personal thing, as I say everyone tends to have Lush scents they love and Lush scents they simply can't stand!

The bad part...

The major flaw to this bath bomb is it is, like it's sister bath bomb, Northern Lights, incredibly fragile, although I managed to keep mine intact, I went on to the 'lush' hashtag on instagram to have a look at other peoples Sparklers and there were many people complaining of broken in half and even shattered Sparkler bath bombs! Especially in the Wizard gift set, which is sad as you'd think in a gift (where you pay extra for the gift wrapping) that they'd be kept safe, sadly not though! 

Another flaw this bath bomb has, although it doesn't seem to bother other people, is the colour of the bath you are left with, it's a deep dark golden yellow, not the colour of the bomb, much more similar to the 'first urine of the day', honestly! I am usually okay with the yellow bath bombs as they tend to go a cuter light shade of yellow but this bath bomb was like a real bath in KE$HA's freshest glittery urine sample!

In the bath...

 At first the bath bomb just fizzes away kind of slowly but faster at the darker part of the bath bomb! As with Northern Lights bath bomb, the shape of this bath bomb is meant to make it 'spin around' and I guess this bath bomb kind of attempted to do that! Most people say it didn't spin at all but I'm pretty sure mine did a little bit, although very slowly and not really very noticeably!

Once the darker part of the bath bomb fizzes away, golden peach glitter shoots out the top, it really is a lovely sight and really does remind me of playing with sparklers at a bonfire! The popping candy in this bath bomb really does make it feel like a bath time sparkler! It's a lovely slow fizzer to enjoy watching! I didn't really feel that soft once out of the bath but I'm pretty sure this bath bomb was made to impress your eyes more than your skin! The scent of this bath bomb lingers on the skin quite well, as I find some bath bombs you can smell on yourself for hours and others you can't smell out of the bath at all!

I feel this bath bomb was over-shadowed by Northern Lights, it's physically less attractive and as most (sane) people would probably only buy one bath bomb in this shape, most people would naturally go for the purple one! I never repurchased this bath bomb purely because I was way more 'wowed' by the performance of the Northern Lights and I just couldn't stand the colour of the bath water! It is still a very lovely bath bomb and I think if it was released without Northern Lights it would have got the attention it deserved!

The Lush Cosmetics Halloween 2014 range, excluding Fairy Ring soap, which I didn't purchase. 

Hope I've put you in the mood for a bath!
Zono
xxx

Northern Lights Bathbomb - Lush Cosmetics - Review

Quick summary: An amazing bath time spectacle but it has one major flaw- it breaks incredibly easily- be warned!

Northern Lights bath bomb is without a doubt one of my favourite bath bombs from Lush since starting my Lush Cosmetics obsession back in December 2013, when my local Lush store opened and it suddenly became a lot easier for me to get my hands on my favourite bath time treats!

This bath bomb is £3.50 from Lush Cosmetics UK which is the price of most of their bath bombs at the moment, they aren't exactly cheap but as a treat they really work wonders for cheering you up or rewarding you for a great day- or even maybe consoling you on a bad day! Once you get into Lush products like I do almost every occasion can somehow justify a Lush product!

From the outside...

Just looking at the bath bomb before it's even in the water, it seemingly has it all, a beautiful purple colour that almost nobody could resist! Cute little stars on top and a smell that Lush describes as 'Jasmine and Ylang-Ylang' but I would probably describe it for the non-lush folk, as a really fresh breeze kind of smell, perhaps the smell of a night sky, I'm not sure, as I don't go out much at night any more! The smell is not to everyone's taste but that is the general feeling with Lush Cosmetics and the scents they use, most people have ones they love and ones that they can't really get along with!

The bad part...

The major flaw to this bath bomb is it is incredibly fragile, my little sister, 8, also got this bath bomb and always breaks her bath bombs in half to make them last longer! A lot of the time this involves some serious effort, such as banging a knife into the bathbomb with a hammer! This bath bomb literally snapped as soon as we went to break it in half! I have a picture of this up on my instagram if you are curious as to what the inside of the bomb looks like- http://instagram.com/heyzono 

This surprised me so I went on to the 'lush' hashtag on instagram (as I very often do!) to have a look at other peoples Northern Lights and sure enough, many people had deliveries of broken bath bombs, in some cases absolutely shattered bath bombs! I've taken extra care of my remaining one by wrapping it up in bubble wrap! Which seems extreme for a bath bomb and kind of goes against Lush's policy on being environmentally friendly! But almost all of my other bath bombs stay safe in just my tin box alone! The only other 'fragile' bath bomb is the Sparkler bath bomb which shares the Northern Lights long shape, so I guess, it's probably a bit of a design flaw!

In the bath...

 At first the bath bomb mostly just fizzes at the edges, a nice blue sort of colour! Apparently the shape of this bath bomb is meant to make it 'spin around' and I guess this bath bomb kind of attempted to do that! Most people say it didn't spin at all but I'm pretty sure mine did a little bit, although very slowly and not really very noticably!

After that blue fizzes away, you get this amazing bright blue and yellow fizzy loveliness coming out each side of the bomb! It is really amazing, I remember thinking 'wow- this is awesome' and I do really like bath bombs anyway but this one was really something special! It was quite a long fizzer too, must have lasted about 5 minutes or so! So it was really nice to watch with my pepsi max in the tub! (Yep, I drink my pepsi max in the tub and it's my favourite place to drink my fizzy drinks- what of it?!) 

The overall colour of the bath water was a really nice deep purple that I really enjoyed! I didn't really feel particularly soft out of the bath but I'm pretty sure this bath bomb was made to impress your eyes more than your skin! 

I would definitely repurchase this and have been struggling to get another one! Luckily I believe these are now staying around until Christmas, so I have time to repurchase! I recommend this bath bomb if you want a bath time performance to make you smile and maybe even make you a little sleepy! As the scent is definitely more of a night time scent than a day time one! 

The Lush Cosmetics Halloween 2014 range, excluding Fairy Ring soap, which I didn't purchase. 

Hope you enjoyed reading my first ever review,
Zono
xxx