Valentine’s Day is this weekend, and whether you’re in for an evening at home with your special someone or planning to soak in the self-care with a pamper session, it’s not too late to find the perfect gift. If you’re trying to think outside of the box (of chocolates), Lush has a gift box filled with decadent bath and shower goodies that might be the perfect treat for anyone in need of a little extra love.
Lush is now a household name, known mainly for its handmade cosmetics and commitment to Earth-conscious practices, reflected in the gift boxes it releases for key holidays like Christmas and Easter. Valentine’s Day is no exception, and this year’s offering is a box packed with an assortment of bath products: A Lush Kind of Love. It costs £59, and six of the seven products inside are exclusive, limited-edition creations made just for this Valentine’s Day.
I took on the important job of opening the box to find out exactly what you get inside, to see how nice the products were, whether they offer good value for money and, of course, whether they really would make a nice Valentine’s Day gift.
Much like when you walk past a Lush shop on the high street, the scents of the goodies inside hit your nose before you even open the box. It’s made out of thick, purple cardboard, and the lid is entirely printed in a lovely, bright floral pattern designed by illustrator and printmaker Jasmine Floyd. It’s tied with a bright pink ribbon made from recycled plastic, which Lush encourages recipients to reuse, along with the box.
Lifting the lid reveals seven products, all dedicated to body care, from the brand’s famous bath bombs to a scrub, shower gel and lotion. They’re arranged inside in their own little compartments, like a box of confections, and each of them smells – and looks – like one, too. I was pleasantly surprised to also find a card printed with a love poem, too.
This is a perfect set for fans of scents that are good enough to eat, as each product has a sweet, fruity or chocolatey smell that brings to mind Valentine’s sweeties, heart-shaped treats and chocolate-covered fruit. At the same time, most of them are full-size because they are made in standard sizes, except for the shower gel and body lotion. Aside from the bath bombs, which are single-use, most of the products will last for ages, as a little goes a long way.
Bath bombs are arguably among Lush’s most popular products, and it’s always exciting to see what the brand has concocted for the occasion. This time, they’ve created some limited-edition Valentine’s-themed bath bombs, both of which are included in the gift box.
The first is the Love Letter bath bomb, shaped like a white letter sealed with a pink heart, and decorated with smaller red hearts. It has a creamy strawberry scent, and the brand says it’s made with coconut milk powder and agar agar, both of which are meant to soften and hydrate skin. A fan of the bath bomb wrote a review on the Lush website, saying: « I love the design of this bath bomb… It’s super cute with its little heart details. The smell was oh so good!!! Perfect for Valentine’s Day. »
Another said: « This makes for an adorable gift to yourself or someone else. The smell is divine – so light and fresh with a touch of floral. My skin felt so soft after using it. »
The second bath bomb in the box is the Sweetheart, which is much bigger and has the classic globe shape. The top is embossed with hearts that resemble Sweetheart candy, the chalky sweets that make an appearance this time of year. It has a more sophisticated, perfume-y smell that Lush says is orange oil and vanilla. I love using bath bombs, as they can add some whimsy and fun to a regular old bath, making it feel extra special. This was my favourite of the two, as it turned my bath a fun pink shade, which is perfect for the occasion!
The only downside of bath bombs is that they don’t usually create bubbles, but Lush has included a limited edition bubble bar in the box specifically for that. The Strawberry Crumble Bubbleroon is shaped like a huge, neon-pink strawberry and resembles a large macaron, which is a nice nod to Valentine’s confections.
It’s meant to be crumbled into your bath to add some bubbles, but it’s not without its benefits: Lush says it’s enriched with nourishing shea butter and a layer of cocoa butter sandwiched between its two layers. It also smells like sweet strawberry candy, which can complement either bath bomb in the box.
A fan said: « This smells incredible, the colour it gives off is gorgeous, and it left my skin super smooth! It also creates a very generous mountain of bubbles, so you can stretch it for a few baths! »
Even though the box is heavy on bath products, it also includes a few shower products that will last you way past Valentine’s Day, like the limited-edition Love Bug Scrubee. It’s a solid body scrub made with a blend of cocoa, shea and illipe butters to help soften skin, with ground-up cherry stones acting like natural exfoliants to gently buff skin. This edition of the Scrubee comes in the form of a cheeky winking ladybug, and smells like chocolate and cherries – another Valentine’s treat.
I particularly liked its use of cherry stones as a scrubbing agent, as it means it completely avoids the plastic microbeads usually found in body scrubs. It also makes it a rather gentle scrub, and its thick texture meant I didn’t even need to moisturise after using it.
One Lush customer said it « smells like heaven », adding: « This Scrubee smells absolutely divine! My whole bathroom smells like a Black Forest desert. » However, they found the scrub a little too gentle, saying: « It does a great job as a moisturising bar, but there isn’t really much exfoliation in this one compared to the OG scrubee.
Another wrote: « The smell of this is absolutely delicious, and I love how the scent lingers well after my shower! It smells like chocolate-covered cherries, and I’m obsessed. It makes my skin so soft as well. »
There are also shower gel and soap bars, both in limited-edition scents. There is a 120ml bottle of Passion shower gel, which has loads of fans online asking the brand to make it a permanent fixture. According to Lush, it has notes of passionfruit and rose, and the fresh and fruity smell reminds me of tutti frutti bubblegum. The smell lingers for ages after you use it, too.
One of the cutest items in the gift box is the Cherry on Top soap bar, which is made by hand with a candy cherry in the middle that makes it look almost too cute to use. It can be used in the shower, of course, but placing it by the sink adds an adorable touch to the bathroom. It has a gentle cherry-almond scent, and Lush says the soap is made with coconut oil for softness and vegan glycerin for a luxurious feel.
Another key characteristic of many Lush products is that they can smell and look edible, and the last but not least delicious product in the box is a 60ml bottle of Posh Chocolate body lotion. It really smells good enough to eat, with a creamy scent that smells exactly like chocolate, perfect for cutting through the fruitiness of the rest of the box. It normally doesn’t seem to be sold on its own, so this is a great chance to get some if you’re really curious. The only downside is that you only get a 60ml bottle, which seems disproportionate to the larger shower gel bottle.
