I’m typing this post one handed very early on Saturday morning. Baby J has been awake since 5am and to be honest I lost track of how many times we were up with him in the night. The poor thing really doesn’t seem to be getting any better.

Luckily, yesterday evening, as planned, I was able to enjoy some hard earned pampering time. My long soak in the tub also gave me the opportunity to trial some of the newest Lush products that I managed to pick up earlier in the week.

Simply put, Lush’s new body polish is heaven in a tub. Well, it is if you love the scent of roses and incredibly smooth baby soft skin!

According to Lush you should ‘butter yourself up with our delightfully rosy body polish. Each pot is made with our new soap-base, packed with aphrodisiac jasmine and Turkish rose, smoothing almond oil, moisturizing cocoa butter and neroli, the euphoric essential oil. Smooth it on in the shower for clean, soft and irresistibly fragrant skin. It’s the delight of everyone, not just the Turkish.’

Personally, I cannot find fault with this product. It has a thick, creamy texture that simply melts on to your skin as you massage it in. It doesn’t lather a great deal. I know that some will dislike this aspect of the product but for me it just indicates that it contains very little synthetic foaming agents and will therefore be much less drying and unlikely to cause irritation.

The real selling point for me is how amaaaazing my skin felt after I climbed out of the tub. I cannot remember a single cleansing product that has ever left my skin so soft and smooth that I didn’t feel the need to apply mousturiser. It’s easy to understand why when you learn that each pot is packed full of glycerine, almond oil and coconut oil.

My skin was also delicately scented, I kept sniffing my arm all evening! I think the fragrance is stunning, a really seductive, sensual floral perfume. It’s a true rose smell but with a slight zesty kick to it. (Obviously scent is a very personal thing so have a sniff before you purchase. Although, bare in mind that the fragrance is fairly delicate and may be difficut to appreciate within the overwhelming olfactory experience of a Lush store!)

The downside? The price.

At £15 for 200g this certainly isn’t cheap. However, a quick glance at the ingredients list and it’s easy to see where your money is going. Turkish delight contains 2 of the most expensive essential oils around, rose and neroli. The cost of these ingredients can be attributed to the fact that a large quantity of raw ingredient is required in order to get just the tiniest amount of oil. Rose oil is extracted by steam distillation from the flower petals of the plant. It is more expensive than Rose Absolute as this process yields less oil. Neroli oil is extracted from the blossoms of the bitter orange tree also by way of steam distillation.

These ingredients may be pricey but the benefits they can deliver to the skin are immense. Rose is naturally anti-inflammotory. It will sooth dry, damaged skin and reduce redness. Neroli is one of the few essential oils to be scientifically proven to increase serotonin production in the brain. Serotonin is an important, mood-altering neurotransmitter, and increased levels of it enhance our feelings of serenity and well-being. I guess that’s why I felt so fabulous after my bath last night!

Another thing I try to keep in mind when buying products from Lush is that due to the simple black pots they use, you can be sure that your money really is being spent on high quality ingredients rather than flashy packaging or advertising revenues. Obviously Lush make a profit on what they sell (it’s a business after all) but I genuinely feel that you are paying for fabulous ingredients that have been expertly blended. I’m a self-confessed pretty packaging junky myself but I truly believe in the quality of Lush’s range.

I better go and administer some more calpol to my little patient. After the night I’ve just had I cannot wait to smother myself in this when I eventually climb in the shower this morning.

Loveaudrey xxx