One of the many perks of writing a successful blog, not to mention working for an online mag, is ‘pakkies‘ – the endless stream of boxes that pours into your home and the excitement each one brings with it. Is it a ghd Eclipse? Is it a crappy mustard-coloured cap n’ flash drive combo? You never really know. But I should’ve known the box that arrived last week was from Lush the moment my security dude handed it over going ‘Sjoe! I don’t know what’s in here, but it smells really good!’

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know I’m a long-standing Lush fan. While I love that their products are mostly natural, cruelty-free and made by hand, I’m mostly addicted to the way they smell. I mean, come now – if you walk into an area in a mall where there’s a Lush store, you know you’re going to know about it. And if you’re me you’ll end up going in to tearfully stroke the bath bombs and bitch to all the friendly assistants about how you no longer own a bath and that life’s so horrible and unfair – or at least it feels that way until you open that zexy-scented box discover its a giant Lush hamper…

Of everything in the box, I’ve been most impressed with Vanilla Dee-light body lotion (R215 for 250g). A light, fast absorbing lotion, its ingredients list sounds good enough to eat. Think hibiscus infusion, organic coconut water, cocoa butter, fresh kiwi fruit and fair trade vanilla, jasmine and tonka absolute. Yumness! And that’s exactly how it smells – utterly yummy to the point where you want to lick your arm. Better yet, the scent – a mix of ‘real’, not in the least bit synthetic or ‘plastic’ vanilla and jasmine – seems to last for ages on your skin. While it’s pricey, I’ll happily buy this myself in future.

Another winner is Fairly Traded Honey shampoo (R235 for 300g – again I’ve shot the mini). Made with loads of honey, foaming agents and fragrant oils like geranium, neroli and rose, It’s honey-geranium scent is a little overbearing when you sniff it out the bottle. In the shower, however, it’s perfection and totally reminds me of, wait for it, Iced Zoo biscuits! Once you’re done, you’re left with delicately scented, beautifully cleansed hair. Still, of all Lush’s lovely hair products, their Godiva shampoo bar remains my favourite.

Next up, we’ve got Flying Fox shower gel (R140 for 250g – I’ve shot the mini, not full-size) which doubles up as a shampoo. It’s packed with so much hydrating, skin-lovin’ honey its listed as the first ingredient, combined with lots and lots of jasmine which gives this baby it’s strong, sexy scent – a lush, heady, height of summer type of smell that has to be sniffed for you to ‘get’ it. I like that it foams up beautifully and leaves my skin feeling perfectly clean but never to point of being tight or dry.

Last, but not least, let’s chat about Popcorn Lip Scrub (R95). This is something I’ve had my eye on in store for ages so I was thrilled to give it a bash. It’s formulation’s pretty simple; sugar, salt, coconut and jojoba oil and a delish buttered caramel popcorn essence (squee!) that work together to exfoliate your lips. I like that it’s the PERFECT amount of scrubby so it really, really does exactly what it promises – ‘leave lips soft, smooth and tasting delicious’.

Oh! And one more thing… if you ever wondered what the hell ever happened to Jessica Simpson’s first hubby, super cute boy bander Nick Lachey, you can rest assured he’s safe and sound in the UK, living a simple life packing Lush’s toothy tabs under the assumed name of ‘Dan’.

Lots of lushy love,

Leigh