I was so pleased when I heard that the exclusive perfumes and body sprays were being released on the 1st of December. I end up missing out on most of the LUSH Labs releases with the products being released on the 29th as I don't get paid until the last working day of the month, which usually lands on the 30th or the 31st. I knew I'd be able to get exactly what I wanted with this release and I'm really pleased with everything that I purchased. I got the majority of the scents available and also picked up some of the LUSH Community bath bombs, which I was really pleased about as I was worried these would go out of stock. Let's get into the perfumes and body sprays and what I think about them! 

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Firstly, I feel like this post needs to start with one basic sentence, I do not think that LUSH should host a Showcase next year. 

I had taken today off of work so I would be able to write up a blog post, all about my time at the LUSH Showcase, so I could tell you all about what was going on during the day, what I got to make and show you all the exclusive and seasonal products that I had purchased. Unfortunately, due to my experience at the Showcase, this blog post will be very different from what I had planned. This blog post isn't just intended for my usual readers. I want everybody to see this. I want Mark, Jack, Simon and the rest of the LUSH family to see this, read it and understand what the day was like for us paying customers and loyal fans.

I had purchased a LUSH Labs ticket the day that they were released, which cost me £35. I was under the understanding that my ticket would get me fast track, a tote bag, patch and a product. We were informed that the venue would be open at 10am and that LUSH Labs ticket holders were to enter through a different entrance than general admission. When we got to the Convention Centre, I was confused as to where we were to queue as the sign which stated 'LUSH Labs Ticket Holders This Way' was facing the incorrect way. This wouldn't usually have been an issue for me, but I attended the Showcase with a friend who suffers from chronic pain and therefore can't walk long distances. There was no option for my friend to just wander around and try to work out where we needed to be. Once I located the correct queue, we found our friends and waited for the doors to open. As stated before, we were under the impression that the venue opened at 10am, so we got there with half an hour to spare the last ones in. 10am came and we were still waiting. We were let into the venue at around 10:15, to which I didn't think much of until I actually got inside. Once we were bag checked, which was a mere glimpse into our bags, tickets scanned to collect our wristbands and picked up our totes, we headed straight into the shop for the Swag. I knew as soon as we walked into the main room that there was no way LUSH Labs ticket holders entered the venue before general admission. There wasn't that many people in front of us in the queue and the place was already heaving. 

We headed straight to the Swag section, to find that there was already a queue. I believe I queued for around half an hour to 45 minutes to get into the small cage that held the t-shirts, totes and patches. The Swag shop was so cramped, it was near impossible to move around. I could see things that I wanted to purchase but there was no way I could squeeze through the amount of people that were inside to grab what I wanted. I ended up asking a member of staff to grab me a t-shirt as I couldn't get to it and she very kindly went and got me a t-shirt from the excess stock as they didn't have one out in my size. Whilst in the Swag shop, we were informed that the card machines had gone down and payment via debit or credit card could not be processed. I started to worry as I had saved for the Showcase by putting money on to a gift card , so I asked the member of staff whether I could still pay via gift card. I was told that I wouldn't be able to, that the process of payment via a gift card required WiFi and that was the issue causing card payment to not be accepted. We were assured that the tills would be up and running in no time. I managed to get out of the Swag shop with a handful of the pieces I wanted, I just couldn't bare to be in such a cramped area anymore and I needed to know what was going on with the payment issue.

I left the Swag shop, which was tucked away in the corner of the exclusives area, to a crowd of people. The queue for the Swag was three times the length it was when I managed to get in and was growing. This was having a knock on effect within the products shop, as the Swag shop was inside of the main shop. I ran to grab myself a basket and started making my way around the shop to see what was available to purchase and what I wanted to buy. It was near impossible to look at products, never mind reach to pick one up. I am seeing photos of products today that I had no idea were even there yesterday. Everywhere was crowded resulting people were bashing each other with baskets, shoulders and elbows because there wasn't enough space to move around. I managed to grab a few items and then gave up. I didn't even enter the Christmas section as I was so frustrated by the whole situation, I'd lost my friends in the mess of it all and I didn't have it in me to fight through the crowds to find them. I found a seating area in the centre of the shop and sat down. I deal with anxiety and panic attacks, and how I made it through the shop without having a panic attack, I will never know. Unfortunately, other people weren't as lucky as me and I know for a fact some people literally couldn't deal with it and had no option but to leave this area. One by one, I met up with my friends again and we waited for a while for more news on the card issue. We got so sick of waiting around, seeing the queue growing longer, not being a part of it, and not being updated on the payment issues, that we left. 

At this point, we were pretty annoyed but I thought our day could be salvaged by making products. We left the shop at around 12, so we headed straight to the Handmade By You section as Atmospheres were scheduled for around half past. When myself and my friends got there, we were some of the first. This would have been the first product I was making and as I haven't tried the atmospheres yet, I was excited to smell the gels that the product contains. We stood and waited, to be told just before it started that this was not a making session. We were informed that this session was Gary Shears talking about the atmospheres and telling us how he invented them. I was already annoyed at everything that had happened prior, but this just irritated me further. We were in the Handmade By You section, it's in the name. We left the area to find another stall to make a product, but while we were queuing for so long to make Atmospheres, other people were queuing to make the other products, meaning that we just couldn't get there in time for there to be enough moulds and product left.

We located the exclusive bath bombs that I had been looking for and I was confused. There were stands with a tower of each bath bomb and an iPad placed next to them, on a timer. We were told that these were exclusive bath bombs that would be available to purchase in the new naked shop that will be opening in Japan. They looked incredible and smelt even better. We asked where we could buy them and we were informed that the iPad timer, was counting down to the time when we could purchase them from a truck that was just over from where we were. The concept confused me a little, but I took note of the timers and realised that some of them had ridiculous times, stating that the bath bomb wouldn't be available for another 22 hours. When we asked staff, they confirmed that this meant we could not purchase the bath bomb today and that we should come back tomorrow. I explained that I didn't purchase a ticket for the next day, I had to travel back home that night. This really annoyed me and my friends, it was dangling products in front of us and saying, 'you can't have this.' I was able to pick up two of the exclusive bombs, but the collector, blogger and hoarder inside of me would have loved the full set.

We headed back to the shop to check the queues which didn't appear to have moved much and were still growing. I double checked with staff who told me that they still couldn't accept card or gift card payments, so the shop was still out of the question for me and I was starting to feel like I'd never be able to purchase what I wanted. Some of my friends had went to join a making queue to make Cheery Christmas bath bomb, so myself and a couple of others went to join the queue. We were told that we wouldn't be able to make this product as they had ran out of ingredients. I asked when the next product would be made and we were informed that it would be five o'clock, which was in four hours time. I asked what the product would be and she told me she didn't know. Again, I left a station disappointed.

We wandered around aimlessly for a little while, before heading for some food as we were all hungry and hadn't ate much, due to not being allowed to bring food into the Showcase. We bought a mix of food between us, I purchased the Mac and Cheese option. I would have liked pizza, but every queue was extremely long and this one looked shorter. As I was queuing with my friend who had a crutch, it wasn't fair on her to make her stand in a longer queue for my food preference, I couldn't be bothered to queue that long and I was more than happy with Mac and Cheese anyway. I was quite annoyed that my friend was clearly in pain and leaning on her crutch more than she should have done, yet she was not called to the front of the queue and the staff did nothing to help her carry the food over to the table to collect cutlery, we both had our hands full with two portions of food and I could just about manage with the hot food in a cardboard box, trying to grab forks to eat. They did double box the food for her so it wasn't as hot, but I don't think this would have made much of a difference. The food was okay, the portion sizes were on the smaller side considering that this would be the only meal we had that day and it also cost £6.95 for what we got. I am very well aware that later on in the day, the stalls ran out of food. I don't understand how this can happen, LUSH know how many tickets they sold, therefore they should have prepared food for more people than purchased tickets.

After eating, I wandered around with my friend, took some photographs as I had barely taken my camera out of my bag all day and we discussed how miserable we felt and how we really just wanted to go home. At that point of the day, we'd had enough. I was annoyed because I was so excited to get my hands on all these products, I had saved money on a gift card specifically for this event and I was looking forward to writing a blog post about them all, for all the people who couldn't be there. It was looking like I wouldn't be able to purchase anything and I was worried that things I would want would have sold out and they wouldn't be replenishing the stock until after the centre closed, for the next day.

I finally got to make something at 5 o'clock when myself and my friends went to the Handmade By You station and we made the Snowflake bubble spinner. I started chatting to some girls and then we realised that we actually followed each other on social media. Through chatting with other people, we realised that it wasn't just us that was fed up, it seemed the morale of everybody was pretty dim and everybody I spoke to wasn't happy with what the day had become. There were a lot of disappointed people and as awful as it was that all these people felt the same way, it made me feel like I wasn't over exaggerating my feelings. 

After we were finished making the bubble spinner, we stopped off for a toilet break. I was waiting outside with one of my friends who suffers from chronic pain. I could tell that she was in agony and offered her some ibuprofen. She accepted the tablets and asked if I had any water. I checked my bottle and I didn't, so I said I would get some for her. I looked around and couldn't see water anywhere. I read before we attended, that water stations would be everywhere, we would be able to get water wherever we were. I asked in the Handmade By You section whether they could provide me with some water to fill my bottle and they told me that the water at their station wasn't drinking water so they couldn't. I asked if the tap water in the toilets was drinking safe and she confirmed that it was not. I looked around and realised that the only water dispensers that I was aware of, were in the food market, which was too far away for her to walk and I didn't want to leave my friend by herself while she was in pain. Luckily another one of our friends appeared with water in hand, so my friend was able to take some pain medication. 

I had to head outside to take a phone call as my friends were going to join the queue for the shop as word had gotten around that card payments were now being accepted and the queue was going down slightly at the till side. I joined the end of the queue once I was back in the centre, after walking right through with no bag check nor nobody looking for my wrist band. I'd been in the queue mere minutes before a group of staff who had been talking broke off, and one of them started talking to the people in front of me. I overheard what sounded like 'closed as of here' and the disappointment set in again. I started listening in to the conversation, as did the people next to me and we heard that as of that point in the queue, the store was closed and admittance to the shop was a no go. The people in front of me walked away, clearly very upset and annoyed. I spoke to the staff member and explained that all my friends were inside the store, that I had had to step outside of the centre due to the noise, to take a phone call and that I would have been with them had I not had to take that call. The staff member told me I could come back tomorrow and I would be able to access the shop. I explained that I wasn't local and I wasn't attending the Showcase for a second day. I could see that the person speaking with me was uncomfortable with this situation so I told him that I understood it wasn't his fault. He told me that he would speak with another colleague and try to sort something out. I waited whilst I heard other staff members turn people away, explaining that the store was closed. Another member of staff who had heard me talking to the previous staff member asked me if I was okay. I was honest with her. I explained how I had saved money on a gift card for this event, how I had travelled from Carlisle and I was only here this day, that all my friends were inside the shop and that I was a blogger, wanting to purchase products so I could provide first impressions and reviews on my blog. The girl I was speaking to was very understanding and said she would do what she could. She spoke with another colleague who both agreed that I could join the queue.

I must admit, I was surprised with how much product was still left. I was able to pick up the Swag that I wanted, which I was very shocked at and I was able to have a more in depth browse at everything and take photos of the exclusives. There were still people browsing, but nowhere near as many people as before. My only issue at this point was I was tired, my knees were killing me from standing all day and I had just lost all enthusiasm that I had. I wanted to talk to staff and learn more about the products, especially the pieces I wasn't going to purchase. I just didn't have it in me. I picked up the exclusives that I wanted, grabbed some pieces of the Christmas collection and headed to the tills. I think it took around an hour to get served and then a further 30 minutes at the till, which even though it is a long time, I really feel for the people who stood in the queue for hours upon hours and missed out on so many other things that were going on. I felt so sorry for the staff as they kept apologising for the time issue and I kept reassuring them that it was fine. When I reached the till the lady who was serving me was missing the PLU for some of the products I was purchasing and she seemed so anxious, it made me wonder if she had had a bad experience today with another customer. I reassured her that she could take her time and to not bother labelling the items unless it would help her. I finally left the shop and wanted to fill my cup with water but was asked to make my way to the exit.

I spent a total of nine hours at the Showcase, I was in as soon as I could and I was one of the last few to leave. On a whole, the day was deflating, frustrating and disappointing. I paid money to be there, to travel down and to stay the night before to ensure I was at the Showcase early enough to be there all day. Based on my experience of the day, there are a few questions that I have that I would like answered and I think a lot of people would like answered also..

Why were LUSH Labs tickets advertised as 'fast track'?

I really don't see how there was any difference between LUSH Labs and general admission, apart from the tote, patch and product. General admission clearly entered the building before we did, therefore we were not 'fast track' at all.

Why were the bag searches not thorough? Why was security so lax?

It's upsetting that at this day in age, bag searches have to be a thing, but my bag was glimpsed into the first time I came in. I had to ask the security guy if he wanted to see into my bag the second time I came in and the third time, he looked in my LUSH Labs tote but not my backpack. I was never asked by any member of staff or security to see my wristband, and it was covered when I walked in the third time as I had my hoodie on, therefore they wouldn't have been able to see it.

Why did the WiFi not work? Was the WiFi tested prior to the venue being booked or even the day of the Showcase?Probably a touchy subject, but this is the key to the disappointment, disruption and anger that fuelled. When booking a venue for thousands of people to attend and making the decision to run the tills off the WiFi, surely LUSH would have checked that the strength of the signal was sufficient. 

Why was the layout of the shop changed from last year? 

I had no issues at all with purchasing products last year, the shops was set out with a clear walk way down the middle with the products on either side. This worked. Why do LUSH have a habit of changing things that work! The crowd (if any) flowed better last year, people were walking in the same direction and there was one way in and one way out. This layout should have been adopted this year also.

Why were there so few water dispensers?
We were informed that water dispensers would be everywhere, yet I recall only seeing water in the food market. I was in a need of water, in a large open space and I couldn't see any water dispensers in the near area.

Why did the food run out?

Although this didn't affect me, people deserve an explanation as to why food ran out. My mother is from a catering background and I have helped her in the past. You always provide food for at least 5% more than you have booked or expected, that way nobody is left disappointed. This was a full day convention, there were next to no snacks, therefore a meal is all that most people could get. If any 'wasted money' should have been spent on anything, it should have been food, not a giant ball of bicarbonate.

Why were there no exceptions or lines for people with disabilities? 

After spending the day with two people who suffer from chronic pain, I am disgusted that there was no help or any form of service for those with disabilities. Isn't this something that LUSH pride themselves on? People with chronic pain shouldn't be left to stand in queues for hours on end. They should be prioritised, and I didn't see this happening at all.  

Why weren't managers turning people away at the shop?

I don't think it was fair that floor staff were the ones who had to turn people away in the queue. Not every person who spoke to those staff were as nice and polite as me, a lot of people were very frustrated and this heightened their feelings even more. 

Why were the exclusive bath bombs not available on both days?

I understand the one per customer rule and them only being available at certain times, but I don't understand some bath bombs were sold on one day and some sold on the second day. LUSH should know their customers by now, the people who attend the Showcase aren't random people off the street. These are die hard, loyal fans who want to spend their money on your products and use them. Splitting the bath bombs between days made no sense to anybody and disappointed a lot of people. I have also heard that all the bath bombs were available to purchase on the second day, how is this fair and equal?

I want to express that every member of staff I came into contact with, was exceptionally lovely and understanding. If anything, I think the floor staff had it the hardest yesterday, probably not made much easier by some of the customers. I didn't have a single questionable experience with the staff, even when they didn't know the answer to what I was asking, they were still as helpful as they could be. The issues that occurred yesterday definitely came from higher up and I feel like they simply didn't care. 

So Mark, Jack, Simon and to anybody else who was responsible for the car crash of day one -  it's pretty apparent that getting on a stage and talking to a handful of people was more important than sorting out the issues that were affecting hundreds of your paying customers. I'm pretty sure people would have understood you being late to a talk if you were sorting out the mess that was happening. As far as I am aware, LUSH as a company has always strived for equality and maintained that this is a key issue to you, but I think that this Showcase was another perfect example of inequality within LUSH. Maybe if higher management took their focus off making a handful of people happy, you'd be able to focus a little more on the masses of disappointed people. It's became pretty apparent that a large following on social media not only gets you things for free, but also gets you priority over disabled people in pain, people crying and having panic attacks because they're that stressed out and paying customers who have shelled out of their own pocket to be there, every single one of which who are so damn loyal to your company and products. I don't think it's ridiculous of me to request, at the very least, a formal apology to each and every person who attended the first day, for all the time spent standing in queues, lack of food available, misleading information provided, shortage of ingredients and for the overall miserable experience that was felt throughout the entire convention as a result of this. 

To all my usual readers, followers and friends, I hope if you attended the Showcase on day one, that you made the best of a bad situation. I've heard a lot of people say that meeting the people that they met was the best part of their day and made it better, and this is definitely the case for me. To anybody who didn't attend the Showcase, I hope this post provides you a bit more insight as to why some people are 'moaning' about the day, as my experience definitely wasn't one of the worst. And finally, to LUSH, I expect a reply to my questions in an email.

If you attended the Showcase please leave your comments down below on your experience of your time there!

I can't quite believe we are at the time of the year again where the LUSH stores are graced with the Halloween products - has this been a quick year or is it just me? Halloween is one of my favourite LUSH releases as this collection includes some of my favourite products and it means the count down to Christmas really is on!

I visited my local LUSH, which you can find on Instagram @carlislelush with my friend and fellow Lushie, Beth (@mermazingbaths). I was actually really good this trip, I kept to my list and only bought what I wanted from the Halloween collection and my ride or die product, American Cream as I'm nearly out. This is almost unheard of for me, I usually spend a small fortune on products I didn't intend on purchasing, so I was quite pleased with myself. I set myself a budget of £100 as I have loaded money onto a gift card to use at the Showcase. I also ended up taking a perfume back as it didn't work very well on my skin, so £35 was taken off my total too. Overall, I spent £73.85 with my the money for the returned product taken off. I'll get into cost a little later in the post, I know you all want to know about the products!

Pictured - Ectoplasm shower scream (Price: £10.95 for 260g)

Firstly, I love that LUSH have named this shower cream a 'shower scream,' I believe they once labelled Lord of Misrule shower cream a 'shower scream' too, what a cute touch! I was very curious to try out Ectoplasm shower cream, I wanted to know how the scent came across in this format and I wanted to see if LUSH had finally perfected the shower cream formula. I have been pleasantly surprised with this product, as I will admit I didn't have great expectations. Firstly, the consistency of this shower cream is perfect, the cream isn't so thick that you can't squeeze it out of the bottle but also isn't so runny it's like water. I think LUSH have finally got it right! As for the scent, it's definitely not what I expected. The Ectoplasm scent that we had last year in the one lonely jelly bomb, I remember being quite lime strong with a herbal note, a little like the way Marmalade was orange but with a heavy undertone to it. The Ectoplasm shower cream is very heavy on tangerine, including this ingredient in oil and juice formats. Ectoplasm smells just like the orange juice drink Sunny D, which is a drink I used to love as a kid and takes me right back to Saturdays that I would spend at my Grandas house as he used to make sure he had plenty of Sunny D for me. The scent almost makes me thirsty, it's such a gorgeous fruity scent with a tangy twist that makes your mouth water. I can already see Ectoplasm becoming one of my favourite shower creams/gels and I need to stock up on this before it's gone forever! 

Pictured - Eyeball bath bomb (Price: £4.95)

I always get excited for new bath bombs as they are one of my favourite products that LUSH sell. Eyeball is a product that I was looking forward to, until I saw it. I was expecting a bomb filled with colour and really gruesome (to a point) bath art. I guess I forgot that an eyeball is white and I didn't put two and two together and work out that the majority of the bomb, would be white.. I picked up only one Eyeball as I wasn't sure about the scent. The scent is definitely one I have smelt before, but I just can't place the product. A combination of Brazilian orange oil, rose absolute, lavender oil and ylang ylang oil makes for a strange scent, not a one that I would have chosen to format as a bath bomb. I used Eyeball last night as I was curious to see if there was any amazing bath art hiding inside this ball of bicarbonate. I wouldn't say it was the most boring bath bomb in the world, but it's not a bomb that I would stock up on or probably purchase again. I'd much rather grab a Lord of Misrule or Monsters Ball. 

Pictured - Monsters Ball bath bomb (Price: £4.95)

I am so pleased to see that Monsters Ball is back this year. Monsters Ball is up there with being one of my favourite bath bombs, it's perfect. From the gorgeous and super strong Calacas scent that this bomb carries, to the beautiful purple and blue bath art, I'm not surprised that Monsters Ball is popular and is back for the third year running. This is a bath bomb that I never get bored of, it can be paired with so many other products to make a brilliant bathing experience. I really can't understand why LUSH haven't capitalised on the Lushie love for the Calacas scent and made a permanent product with the same zingy lime ingredients. They could make a foot powder in this scent family and it would sell out on the first launch day! Monsters Ball will be a bath bomb that I will for sure, be stocking up on. I bought a few last year and they lasted very well into the year.

Pictured - Ectoplasm solid perfume (Price: £9)

As soon as I heard the rumours that LUSH were releasing a perfume as part of their Halloween collection and that is was going to be Ectoplasm scented, I was hooked. I don't have the biggest perfume collection in the LUSH world and I don't have many that I would really like to get my hands on, but I do want to grow my collection and grab all the gorgeous bottled scents that LUSH have to offer. I couldn't quite see how Ectoplasm would come across as a perfume, citrus scents don't tend to last long on the skin and being honest, Ectoplasm is no exemption. After myself and Beth shopped in LUSH we headed to Costa for a drink. I rubbed some Ectoplasm solid onto the back of my hand to see how long the scent would last and if the throw was good. As soon as I pulled my hand away from my nose, I couldn't smell the perfume at all. What is the point of a perfume if your nose has to be in contact with the skin you have applied it to, in order to smell it? About half an hour later, I could smell a trace of the perfume on my skin and an hour after application, I couldn't smell a thing. When you first apply the perfume, it smells lovely, different to the shower gel and definitely more reminiscent of the bath bomb, but what is the point in wearing a perfume that you would have to reapply every hour and can't even smell once applied? I am quite disappointed with the Ectoplasm solid perfume as some of my other solids last for hours and the scent is very strong. I do believe that the perfume having a citrus scent is probably a large reason as to why the scent doesn't linger, but in that case, if it was my company I wouldn't have released it. This is also my first solid perfume in the newer glass packaging and I already know I'm not a fan. Less product for the same price plus a heavier component that will be awkward to retrieve product from when you're nearing the end of it? It's a no from me!

Pictured - Lord of Misrule bath bomb (Price: £4.25)

Another one of my favourite bath bombs has came back for another year and I am so pleased. I adore the Lord of Misrule scent and I remember once upon a time when the bath bomb was the only way to indulge in the gorgeous combination of patchouli, black pepper oil and vanilla. I love that LUSH have grew the scent family to include Rough with the Smooth and Monsters and Aliens FUN within the regular line, the shower cream as an online exclusive and with the releases of the body conditioner and the body lotion through the LUSH Kitchen or whatever you want to call it nowadays. I could see there being a public outcry if Lord of Misrule didn't come back, I think it would be nearly as bad as if LUSH were to ever remove Snow Fairy from the Christmas collection. I am hoping that Lord of Misrule keeps a bit better this year. With it being one of my favourites, I of course stocked up last year but was very disappointed when the bombs turned to total duds after a very short time. I can't wait to jump into a Lord of Misrule bath, I've been craving one for a while and I was waiting for a nice fresh bath bomb! Lord of Misrule is another product that I will stock up on, especially if it stays around till Christmas and ends up in the Boxing Day sale.


Pictured - Ectoplasm jelly bomb (Price: £5.25)
I am really not the biggest fan of the jelly bombs and I'm not afraid to say so. I find them so messy, they're a pain in the bath when they don't work well and you end up with jelly lumps floating around your tub and sticking to the sides, the jelly takes forever to dissolve so I have to keep my head way above water as I have nightmares about getting the jelly tangled and stuck in my hair and they also don't photograph well at all, the bath art really isn't all that. I wish that LUSH would have released a normal bath bomb in this scent, as the scent is the only part that I really enjoy. I didn't go out of my way to purchase an Ectoplasm jelly bomb, it came in one of the gift sets that I bought. If I hadn't have bought the gift set, I wouldn't have picked up one of these at all. I have only just used my extra one from last year a few weeks ago and that was purely because I was running out of bath bombs and didn't want to use my last Christmas Sweater!


Pictured - Sparkly Pumpkin (Price: £4.75)
I feel like 2018 will be the last year that we see Sparkly Pumpkin. I really don't see why this bubble bar has kept coming back, I don't think there is anything special about the scent, which doesn't correlate to the depiction of a pumpkin at all. I think that the price hike on Sparkly Pumpkin will be the death of it, nearly £5 for a tiny bubble bar that most people would probably get one, possibly two baths out of, is quite frankly ridiculous. I feel like the price is going to put people off for such a small product and I don't think the scent will do much to entice people to pop one in their basket, therefore stores won't sell it very well and we all know what happens when a product doesn't sell well, it doesn't come back. I honestly wouldn't be bothered if Sparkly Pumpkin retired and we got another bubble bar in it's place next year.


Pictured - Ghost in the Dark soap (Price: £5.95)
I am never interested in soap, I have a drawer full of the bloody stuff and I never reach for it ever. Last time I was remotely interested in soap was Easter of 2017 when Chocolate Easter Egg soap was leaked and I had a scent in my head of white chocolate heaven, which was destroyed once I smelt it and it was very much LUSH's favourite, citrus. I think Ghost in the Dark had so much potential to have a loved scent, the clue really is in the name! I was certain that this soap was going to smell like the Ghost scent family, which would make sense seeing as the shape of the soap is an actual ghost! I also thought that this could smell like the Demon in the Dark scent family, hence the name also. I have heard a lot of people saying that they think Ghost in the Dark is part of the Avobath scent family, but I disagree! I think this soap smells identical to You've Been Mangoed, the bath melt. As lovely as the scent is, I would have much preferred a Demon in the Dark scent as another citrus product is just what we need, right? Push the boat out why don't you LUSH!


Pictured - Bewitched bubble bar (Price: £4.95)
I am not surprised at all that Bewitched has come back for another year, this bubble bar was a massive hit with the Lushies last year. Bewitched combines two of the things that Lushies wanted the most, a product to give us black water and the Sultana scent. I'm not a massive fan of the Sultana scent family and the scent is very strong in this format. I still have two bubble bars left over from last year as I find it quite hard to pair this bubble bar with a bath bomb that will give me pleasant water. LUSH have also been going in on the Sultana scent family lately, releasing the long awaited shower gel and a lotion too. It's a shame that Blackberry was discontinued as Lushies would have been able to have an entire Sultana bath now! 

Overall, I think there are some brilliant products available within the Halloween collection this year, but I also think there are some disappointing products. I know a lot of people are disappointed that Lord of Misrule shower cream isn't coming to stores. I know it can be purchased on the UK website all year round, but this just adds to the frustration of the question as to why it isn't in stores. There is also a lot of confusion about the liquid version of Ectoplasm perfume being available to purchase in other countries, but not within the UK. Apparently the UK factory stumbled across some production issues and for some reason has been unable to solve the issue before the launch date. I have heard that Ectoplasm liquid perfume should be with us by the end of September. 

I think the biggest issue I have heard people talking about is the price hike. Products have gotten so much more expensive this year and people literally just cannot afford it. Most of the bath bombs are just shy of £5 now, which is unfathomable to some people. I remember when all bath bombs were around £2 or £3 and you could get so many products for your money. I actually stumbled across a very old blog post of mine where I reviewed some LUSH products way back in 2013 and the Secret Santa bath bomb, which was huge, shaped like a grotto and could be split into two for two baths, was £5.75. For a bath bomb that size now, you'd be looking at easily £8 or more! I understand that inflation is a thing and that with Brexit happening, this will effect prices considerably, but the pricing is becoming ridiculous and not affordable to a lot of people, which sucks when LUSH is something that they enjoy so much. The prices are only just going to rise from here on out and before we know it, LUSH will be an extreme luxury and even more people will be heading to indie brands. I'll always love LUSH, but if I can't justify the prices I simply just won't buy it.

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**Disclaimer: All views, opinions and photos are my own.**

What a couple of weeks it has been in the LUSH community! I haven't felt such a buzz for a long time, it's been so nice to see people excited about LUSH again and the groups being busy and everybody chatting again! If you've been living under a rock, LUSH released 7 limited editions liquid shower gels on Friday. Not only is this a very long awaited release due to the lack of liquid products we have been given since Christmas, but it's also really exciting as three of these shower gels have never been released before. 

In the old LUSH Kitchen days, products were available until they sold out. This meant that they would either sell out in minutes or could take days, sometimes even over a week if the product wasn't super popular. This caused a lot of strife for both us, the customers and LUSH themselves. On days where super popular products were being released, the website would crash and there would be so many people left disappointed as they never got to purchase the products they wanted. This caused LUSH to change the game a little. They promised us we would have bigger batches of products that would be available for a longer time. I really believe that LUSH have stuck to this, as all the shower gels are were still available for a short while after release and I can guarantee if these had been released back in the old days, they would have gone in seconds.

LUSH also released another batch a week later to give everybody a fair chance at being able to purchase what they would like. This was another thing that never happened with the LUSH Kitchen, once something was gone, it was gone. I placed an order on the first release day and I also managed to place another order on pay day too, so I'm very pleased that LUSH gave us the opportunity to stock up!

Anyway, onto the gels themselves! 

Just a side note, I didn't purchase Flying Fox as I absolutely despise the Lust scent family which this shower gel shares the same fragrance with and I also didn't purchase a Karma, as I already have over half a bottle and I don't see myself running out of it any time soon. 

Pictured - American Cream shower gel