Christina Alyce Beauty

I had received this soap as a sample in my very first Lush order, over a year ago. At the time, I wasn’t too interested in anything other than bath bombs and bubble bars (as it happens with most new Lushies), and I certainly wasn’t an avid user of bar soap. Consequently, I took a sniff, thought it was ok, and stashed it in a drawer, not to be acknowledged again until a year later. While organizing my stash, I rediscovered this little sliver of minty soap and decided to give it a try. After trying Karma from a gift set and ordering Miranda on a whim, I now consider myself a true fan of Lush’s bar soaps and jump on the chance to try anything new.

While (to my dismay) the bar soap is no longer available, there are many other products that share it’s scent- a perfume available in 3 formats, a shower gel (a favorite of my boyfriend’s), shaving cream, styling cream, and quite a few others. It’s a fresh minty fragrance, that does a beautiful job at waking you up in the morning. I found this to be a softer mint scent, while it was undeniably fresh and minty and gave you a slight cooling sensation on the skin, it is a little sweeter, and a touch herbal. I believe the softness comes from the coconut oil, and the herbalness stems from the thyme, though it is very gentle and can easily go unnoticed. It is a very beautiful fragrance that seemed very unisex to me. 

This soap created a velvety lather, with a large amount of very tiny bubbles, making it feel moisturising and luxurious. The coconut and rapeseed oils both contribute to a more moisturizing cleanse. I found that after a shower with this soap, my skin was slightly less stripped feeling than with other bar soaps.

I really enjoyed this soap, and I’m very disappointed it has been discontinued. I hope it makes an appearance in the Kitchen sometime soon, but until then I’l be savoring my lovely little sample.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Would I repurchase?: Yes

Status: Discontinued

Vegan?: Yes.

Price: £4.10 for 100g

Scent Family:

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Sodium Stearate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Perfume, Glycerine, Spearmint Oil, Thyme Oil, Menthol Crystals, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Limonene, Linalool, Methyl Ionone, Colour 77499, Colour 61570, Colour 77019, Colour 77891. 

I took a risk ordering this from the Kitchen, and after using it multiple  times, I’m not really sure where I stand with it in regards to scent. It’s hard to bring up Supertramp without someone comparing it to Tramp and Smaragadine. Tramp was a well loved shower gel that was discontinued a few years ago, and is highly sought after. I am not sure why i was discontinued, I heard that it was because it contained oakmoss, and there were new regulations involving the ingredient, but Lush Still carries a handful of other products with oakmoss, so I’m not really sure. Either way, Tramp was removed, the oakmoss was taken out, a plethora of new ingredients were added, and it was renamed and reissued as Supertramp. Many people say that with the addition of the new ingredients, it’s a Tramp and Smaragadine hybrid, that falls short of both of the originals.

I never had the chance to smell Tramp or Smaragadine, but the scent of Supertramp is complex, and I really cannot decide if I like it or hate it. The scent that I find to me the most noticeable in the bottle is a woody, spicy scent that I imagine comes from the patchouli, sandalwood, ginger and allspice . Under this earthy spice, the peppermint is very noticeable. Though this product contains rose and lavender, I really can’t detect any floral notes whatsoever. The fruity, citrus notes of petitgrain are also hard to detect. In the shower, the scent is almost completely taken over by a smokiness from the patchouli. This is a very masculine scent, if you’re looking for something sweet, floral, or fruity, you certainly won’t find it here. While I like a more earthy, musky, and spicy scent, I cannot decide if this is just a little too over the top for me,

As a shower gel, this thick, emerald green liquid performs well. It lathers beautifully in a netted sponge and cleanses the skin thoroughly without drying you out. The white horehound and peppermint leaf infusion is wonderful for stimulating circulation, and helps to give skin a healthy glow.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Price: £11.95

Status: Kitchen Exclusive, Last released Oct 9th, 2015

Scent Family: Supertramp Bubble Bar

Vegan?:  Yes

Would I repurchase? Probably not

Ingredients: White Horehound and Peppermint Leaf, Herb, Rose Petal and Lavender Flower Infusion, Water (Aqua), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Lauryl Betaine, Propylene Glycol, Fine Sea Salt, Organic Orange Peel Decoction, Patchouli Oil, Petitgrain Oil,  Pimento Berry Oil, Sandalwood Oil, Ginger Oil, Plantain Vinegar Gel, Perfume, Methyl Ionone, Eugenol, Limonene, Linalool, Chlorophyllin, Methylparaben.

This truly is a beautiful soap. A creamy emerald green bar with a sprinkling of flower petals and a kaffir lime leaf on top, this exclusive soap is a sight to behold. I didn’t know what to expect for a scent from the sandalwood, spinach, tangerine, and gardenia, but I was pleasantly surprised with the earthy green and slightly floral aroma that greeted me upon opening the package. Something about this soap brings me such comfort. It it brings to mind a lazy sunny day in mid-July, a stroll by a river along a flower lined path.

When I first picked up this soap, I quickly noticed it was ever so slightly melted by the heat of my hands, and I can only assume this is due to the Coconut and rapeseed oils it contains. I found that these oils make for a very moisturizing (though not very sudsy) lather that feels gentle, but still cleansing. I don’t particularly care for soaps with an intense lather, so this was excellent for me.

An interesting component to this soap is chlorophyll, which actually has some great skincare benefits. It is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial agent. That makes it fantastic for combating acne and fighting free-radicals.

Overall, I am completely in love with this soap, and I hope it returns to the kitchen very soon! Until then, I will be savoring it, using it only when I need a special pick-me-up!

Rating: 6 out of 5

Price: £4.20/$6.28 for 100g/3.5oz

Status: Kitchen Exclusive

Vegan?: Yes

Would I repurchase?: Yes yes yes!

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Glycerine, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Sorbitol, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Perfume, Sodium Stearate, Fresh Spinach, Sandalwood Oil, Tangerine Oil, Gardenia Extract, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Farnesol, Limonene, Linalool, Chlorophyllin, Kaffir Lime Leaf, Marigold Flower.

I’m not going to lie, I was pretty disappointed in this product. I had never tried a LUSH deodorant before, so I was expecting a slightly more traditional consistency (meaning solid, yet creamy), but this was just a compacted powder, and it is so very messy. When I recieved the bar, the wax on the bottom had completely come off (2nd photo), so now whenever I put it down somewhere, it leaves a powdery pile behind, wasting tons of product.

I applied this after an evening shower, and the first thing I noticed, was the incredible stinging sensation- I hadn’t even shaved my underarms since the previous evening, so I can only imagine how painful this would be on freshly shaved or waxed underarms. I’m not sure which of the ingredients might have been irritating, though I suspect it was most likely the sodium bicarbonate, despite LUSH’s claims that it is a soothing ingredient. Also, the product is quite coarse, which I’m sure does not help.

As for protection against perspiration… again, I’m not too thrilled. I honestly didn’t feel like it did much to keep me dry. I rarely sweat, especially now that the weather is cooling down, but I felt that this did nothing to keep me dry- I actually felt consistently damp throughout the day, which does not happen even when I go without deodorant altogether!

The sole redeeming quality in this deodorant would have to be it’s scent. It’s deliciously citrusy and very clean smelling. Unfortunately, as with every other deodorant brand I’ve tried, it just doesn’t mix well with or mask my natural scent. As I stated, I’m not a sweaty or stinky person, but for some reason once I add a scented deodorant to the mix, some strange reaction happens and I just smell worse. I must just have some strange pheromone that doesn’t jive well with perfumes… so the search will continue.

So overall, I would not repurchase this should It be available in the Kitchen again, though I would suggest you to try it out for yourself before I say I wouldn’t recommend it, as everyone is a bit different. When looking at reviews for LUSH’s T’eo Deodorant, I saw many people who had the same problems as I did with Krysztal, but then there were others who absolutely raved about it. This is the type of item that you either love or hate, and I have a feeling that if you enjoy T’eo, you will likely enjoy Krysztal because they are very similar in composition. But, it was just not for me. I think I will give it a few more tries, experimenting with different methods of application, and keep you updated.

Rating: 1 out of 5

Price:  £5.00 ($7.74) for 90g.

Status: Kitchen Exclusive

Vegan?: Yes

Would I repurchase? No

Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of tartar (Tartaric acid), Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis), Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum), Black Wax (Specerit Black Z), Magnesium Carbonate, Cypress Oil (Cupressus sempervirens), Lime Oil (Citrus auranfifoli), Fresh Lemon Juice (Citrus limonium), Fresh Lime Juice (Citrus limetta), *Citral, *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume.

Ever wonder what it’s like to doze off in a sunny field of lavender? Maybe not, but I can only imagine it’s as peaceful and comforting as you feel after using this body butter. A simple, creamy cube, at first this body butter seems very ordinary. But with one whiff, it sends you off on a stroll through the fragrant, bright purple petals.

Body butters from LUSH are used a little differently from the tub of rich body cream that we traditionally associate with the term “body butter”. LUSH’s butters are in a solid bar form, that you use in the shower on wet skin. You apply it just as you would lather yourself with a bar of soap, just rub the bar directly on damp skin to trap in moisture.

I used this in the shower in the evening, and it was a wonderful way to wind down before bed. It contains lots of soothingly scented essential oils, like lavender, chamomile, sandalwood, jasmine, and ginger, though the most noticeable, to me, are lavender and chamomile.

I really liked the feel of this body butter. Schnuggle is made with moisturising shea butter, and it leaves your skin feeling incredibly soft and hydrated. An interesting component of this product is the sodium bicarbonate, which is meant to keep your skin from feeling too oily. While it gave the bar an almost chalky texture, I didn’t find that it reduced the oily feeling on my skin. I didn’t mind though, because I enjoy that luxurious sensation of essential oils working their magic.The scent lingered well on my skin, it was a beautiful, calming scent to fall asleep to.

I highly recommend this product, and I really hope it shows up in the kitchen again soon. I really look forward to trying more LUSH body butters until then as well, I am very impressed!

Rating: 5 out of 5

Price: £3.50/$5.42

Status: Kitchen Exclusive

Vegan?: Yes!

Would I repurchase? Yes!

Ingredients: Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Corn Starch (Zea mays), Kaolin, Magnesium Carbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Lavender Oil (Lavandula hybrida), Ginger Oil (Zingiber officinale), Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album), Chamomile Oil (Anthemis nobilis), Jasmine Absolute (Jasminum officinale), *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume.* Occurs naturally in essential oils