Needles and Pines Shower Jelly

I used to think that I would never be a fan of shower jellies; I thought that the idea was quite odd but after using them, I have now come to understand the hype that surrounds them.

Needles and Pines shower jelly is one of the jellies that are in the all-year-round stock and is known for its winter-woodland aroma.

I'm not a huge fan of shower jellies, I prefer Lush's shower gels as they're easier to use but every now and then, I cut up one of my jellies and try to challenge myself to not dropping it for the duration of my shower. *Let me tell you now, that is a very very hard challenge*

What drew me to this particular shower jelly was the vibrant green colour, very similar to the colour of the Avoshower shower jelly, so I decided to buy it and a few days later my package arrived, I tried it out.

As soon as I removed the lid off of the jelly, the smell of Christmas hit me. If I could describe this product in one word, that's what it would be: Christmas. The smell of fresh pine leaves reminds me of a Christmas tree and if you put this jelly in the fridge or freezer before using it, the smell becomes stronger and fresher when you use it in the shower. Needles and Pines smell absolutely gorgeous.

Even though there is grapefruit oil in the jelly, I can't smell any citrus elements since the woodland aroma is very dominant. I do think that a subtle citrus smell would ruin the scent of the product.

Carrageenan Extract is mucilage that is extracted from Irish Moss seaweed and this ingredient helps replenish your skin's moisture and leave it feeling silky smooth.

Before using shower jellies, I tend to get a pair of scissors and just cut the jelly into small pieces because I've found that it's much easier to use the jellies if they're smaller and can fit in the palm of your hand. When I first bought shower jellies, I was using them whole and I found the experience very infuriating as it kept slipping out of my hand and I also found that it didn't lather well at all. Since cutting them up, they lather brilliantly, they're easier to use and last longer. Everyone has their own methods for using Lush's shower jellies, but I have found that this way works best for me.

After cutting my shower jelly up, I scooped up one of the pieces and immediately got the lathering it between my hands before using it on my body. Another thing that I have found our from using shower jellies is that if you use it straight away on your body, the jelly doesn't have to time to lather and create that gorgeous smelling foam. I get the jelly in my wet hands and just rub them together for about 30 seconds and then I find that the jelly is ready to use. When I use the jelly on my whole body,  I keep it out of the way of the shower head as I've also found out that too much water makes the jelly lose its lather.

With Needles and Pines, it didn't need much pre-lathering at all; after ten seconds it was done and ready to use. It glided smoothly over my skin and instantaneously, I could smell the refreshing scent of pine needles. After I had washed the suds off and exited the shower, I could smell the jelly on my skin and my skin felt so soft; I was very very impressed (I had also managed to only drop the shower jelly three times in the shower, I was proud of myself).

The smell of Needles and Pines lingered on my skin for about four hours which is amazing as other shower jellies I've used, their smell has only lasted from half an hour to a couple of hours.

If you have read my other reviews of Lush's shower jellies, you will also know that I like using these products as soap as well since the smell lasts longer on your hands. Using them as soaps also makes your hands feel moisturised and smell amazing (depending on which shower jelly you use *yes, I'm looking at you Pot O' Gold!*)

Overall, out of the four all-year-round shower jellies (Refresher, 93,000 Miles, Whoosh and Needles and Pines), this one is definitely my favourite and even though I prefer shower gels to shower jellies, this is definitely one of my top shower products to use. Well done Lush!

Description on Lush:

A song of ice and fire for after the sauna (after all, it's better than rolling in snow). Stimulate circulation by taking it straight out of your freezer and into the shower. An infusion of pine needles and cypress leaf combines with Siberian pine nut oil to create the scents of verdant Finnish woodlands. The solid base, made with carrageenan extract is fantastically softening on the skin.

Ingredients:

Pine Needles and Cypress Leaf Infusion, Glycerine, Water (Aqua), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Propylene Glycol, Carrageenan Extract, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Perfume, Siberian Pine Nut Oil, Cedarwood Oil, Grapefruit Oil, Citronellol, Limonene, Linalool, Colour 42090, Colour 59040, Colour 45350

Price:

£4.50/100g
£8.95/250g

Vegan:

Yes

Rating:

xoxo

Kirsty

Whoosh Shower Jelly

I have quite a big collection of shower jellies, but the thought of using them - after reading many reviews about them - never appealed to me.

To this day, I've used about ten different shower jellies and my thoughts on them are pretty much the same every time: hard to use, nice to smell.

When I took the lid off the Whoosh Shower Jelly, the smell of citrus instantly hit me, it wasn't as strong a citrus smell as the Refresher Shower Jelly, but the citrus smell was still definitely there.

What I tend to do with my shower jellies is get a pair of scissors and cut a thin piece off the top of the jelly. So it's a small, thin shape that fits in the palm of your hand. This makes it easier to use the jellies without dropping them loads in the shower. This doesn't make it possible to NOT drop, but it helps because you'll have a better grip on it. I still dropped mine a couple times but it's better than dropping it ten times in a matter of minutes.

Whoosh shower jelly lathers up pretty nicely. Again, to lather it up properly, I lather the jelly up in between my hands at first and then once I get the lather going, I then use it on my body out the way of the water. So I move the shower head to the side so the water stream isn't going on my body and then I use the jelly.

Whilst using Whoosh on my body, it didn't lather up as nicely as I expected it to, but when I used it in a small circular motion, it lathered up a bit better, but this was a bit annoying as it took much longer to wash my body than a normal shower gel would.

The little bit that I cut off the top of the shower jelly lasts about four washes but when you get to the fourth wash, little bits start to break off the jelly and go down the drain - which is a bit of a waste.

The smell of Whoosh lingered on my body for about half an hour after stepping out of the shower, but the scent stayed on my hands for about an hour. If you have read my reviews on the other shower jellies, you know that I also like to use the jellies as soaps - since the smell does stay on your hands longer and having the smell of Whoosh on your hands for an hour is a dream, since the jelly smells so good.

I think the idea of shower jellies is a very fun one, but they seem to be a bit unideal for when you just want that in-and-out shower. If you want a quick shower, I would opt for a normal shower gel, not a shower jelly.

Since that little chunk that I used lasted for around four washes, my 240g tub will be lasting me for quite a while and once I have finished that tub, I will be buying it again.

Description On Lush:

If you're a little wobbly with overtiredness, Whoosh will give you the oomph you need. Its zingy fragrance and slinky feel with blast away fatigue, especially if you chill this jelly in the fridge or freezer beforehand. We've mixed seaweed, fresh citrus juices, rosemary and geranium oils into this pot. Scoop some of the gel out and use like a soap to cleanse and lift away dead skin cells, leaving you brighter and fresher.

Ingredients:

Glycerine, Honey Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Propylene Glycol, Carrageenan Extract, Perfume, Fresh Organic Lemon Juice, Fresh Grapefruit Juice, Fresh Organic Lime Juice, Grapefruit Oil, Rosemary Oil, Geranium Oil, Citral, Geraniol, Citronellol, Limonene, Linalool, Colour 42090, Methylparaben, Propylparaben

Price:

£3.95/100g
£7.95/240g

Vegan:

No

Rating:

xoxo

Kirsty

Refresher Shower Jelly

This was the first ever shower jelly I bought and I didn't really know what to expect from it; from shower jellies in general. I had heard both positive and negative reviews on them so I thought that it was about time that I see for myself what they were like and give my own opinion.

Upon opening the Refresher shower jelly, the aroma of citrus hit me like a ton of bricks; it was a very strong smell and it smelt divine. You can smell the lemon infusion straight away and lemon oil straight away. It smelt... Clean... Crisp... Summery... Like something that I would love to eat.

The rosewood oil in this product also adds to the citrusy smell. Rosewood oil is gotten from rosewood timber and is distilled so that we can have it's wondrous citrusy smell.

Me being a complete newbie to the shower jellies, I took the entirety of the 240g out of the tub and proceeded to wash my body. I failed. Completely. The jelly kept slipping out of my hand and on to the shower floor, knocking my shampoo and conditioner over in the process. Wonderful. I tried this for another five minutes and in those five minutes, I had only managed to clean an arms - yes, I cleaned one arm in five minutes due to me keep dropping it.

I was getting very very frustrated and in that midst of frustration, I tore the top off the jelly so it was a small chunk. I noticed that whilst I was messing around with the smaller jelly, it was lathering up very nicely in my hand - which the 240g did not do. At all, there was pretty much no lather.

Noticing this, I decided to use this smaller chunk to wash my body. I still dropped it a couple of times but no where near the amount that I was at the beginning of this exhausting journey. I got a good grip on the smaller version and managed to clean my entire body in a few minutes. The smell filled the bathroom and I was in citrusy heaven. After I had washed the jelly off, I kept sniffing my arm (weird, I know) and the scent of the jelly had clung onto my skin.

Even after I had stepped out of the shower, I could still smell Refresher on my body and the smell had disappeared after about half an hour but had still clung to my hands for another hour after that. This gave the idea to maybe try out the shower jelly as a soap as well.

The next day, I used Refresher as a soap - just for my hands and again, in a small chunk - and it worked really well, providing my hands cleanliness and it meant that they smelt amazing for a good hour and a half.

Now that I know that smaller chunks work better in actually washing my body with, I will be cutting up all of my shower jellies into small chunks for future use for when I'm in the shower. However, I do think that I like shower gels better as my whole body feels cleaner after using the gels. After I had stepped out the shower, I had the feeling of that the jelly hadn't cleaned my body as well as a shower gel would have. So if Lush made a Refresher shower gel, that would be a dream.

I do love the idea of shower jellies: a bit of wobbly fun whilst you're in the shower, they're incredibly annoying if you don't cut them up into small chunks, so don't bother even trying to wash yourself with the whole thing because it won't work. I'm just trying to save you the frustration and time: so cut the jelly up before you use it.

I will definitely be buying this shower jelly again once I have finished my 240g tub.

Description On Lush:

When it's nice weather for ducks outside, head straight for the shower with this lemon jelly. Inside, a citrus explosion of fresh organic lemon infusion, lemon oil and organic lemon myrtle will blow the blues away. Why not take your jelly straight out of the fridge or freezer and into the bath or shower with you? The rush of cold on your skin will send blood pumping to the surface, increasing circulation and delivering a super-refreshed feeling.

Ingredients:

Fresh Organic Lemon Infusion, Glycerine, Water (Aqua), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Propylene Glycol, Carrageenan Extract, Perfume, Lemon Oil, Rosewood Oil, Organic Lemon Myrtle Oil, Citral, Limonene, Linalool, Yoshi Yellow Lustre, Methylparaben, Propylparaben

Price:

£4.25/100g
£8.50/240g

Vegan:

Yes

Rating:

xoxo

Kirsty