Flying Fox shower gel

For my first post, I thought I'd go for something that I've used for years, and which holds many fond memories for me - Flying Fox shower gel.
This golden gel might look like honey (and does in fact contain a load of the stuff - a whopping 37%), but the scent is packed full of jasmine and ylang ylang, giving it real sex appeal - literally, since jasmine has been used as an aphrodisiac for centuries!
That's not the original reason for the fragrance though - it was originally formulated to combat PMT! Jasmine and ylang ylang have long been used in aromatherapy to combat depression and all kinds of stress (sound familiar ladies?). Ylang ylang is wonderfully uplifting too, making it perfect for those days when it's all going a bit wrong, or to set you up to face a difficult day. There's a dash of cypress in there too, which is thought to be especially calming in times of emotional stress, and it helps take the edge off the sweet floral aromas as well.
Jasmine absolute is incredibly difficult to make, taking several thousand jasmine flowers to make one kilo of the thick, dark orange, intensely fragranced absolute. In many places it is traditionally considered a sign of wealth - and they put loads of the stuff in here! Lush sources it from plantations in Egypt, where farming families pick the flowers by hand to earn extra money in the summer, when their other crops are not bringing in much money. They have to be collected between 3 and 10 am, when the fragrance is strongest (jasmine is a night bloomer) and before the hot sun comes and burns off all the essential oils. And each blossom must be picked by hand - machines would damage both the flowers and the bushes. As ever, the Lush buyers make sure that the workers are treated well and paid fairly for what they do.
So, we know that the fragrance does wonderful things to your mood. But wait - this stuff has even more to give. Remember all that honey? It's there for a reason - honey is a natural humectant, meaning it helps to lock in the skin's natural moisture. It's also an amazing antiseptic, antibacterial and antifungal ingredient, so it makes your skin lovely and clean - and you can have all these benefits withoutt the sticky mess! It's bought from small producers in Hungary, Greece and England, so you get a good mix of different flower honeys and support the little guys at the same time.
Just to give you an idea of how amazing honey is, I'll share a little story - archaeologists found an earthernware jar of honey in one of the Egyptian tombs, which had lain undisturbed for a few thousand years. It had crystallised a little (as it tends to do when left alone a while - the evidence can be seen in many a kitchen cupboard), but when warmed it returned to its original state (as will that mess in your cupboard) and was perfectly edible! Yes, for around 3000 years this pot of honey successfully battled off the nasties that normally destroy food. Amazing stuff.
Finally, there's a few more plants in there to help with the cleaning - there's Chinese angelica, burdock and jasmine infusion, which adds extra antibacterial action and an extra layer of complexity to the fragrance, and palmarosa oil, which is again antibacterial and antiviral, and also contributes another sweet note to the scent.
Phew, that's all the technical stuff out of the way (and I realise there's a lot of it - goes to show the work that goes into these things). But what is it actually like?
Well, as I already said, it's one of my favourites. Back when I discovered Lush, I worked at a certain chicken-based fast food restaurant, and I was looking for something that would perk me up enough to get through the day and also be strong enough to cover up/take away the smell! This ticked all the boxes - I'd start the day in a good mood, and end it smelling far lovelier than my co-workers. Back then there was also a Flying Fox temple balm, which was great for topping up during the day and it also made a wonderful solid perfume - I still have the scrapings of my tin left for emergencies! I always paired it with Godiva shampoo bar, which has the same fragrance, and used nothing else for months on end. I started dating my husband around that time as well, and now he gets all nostalgic whenever I use it. Aww.
In terms of its effectiveness as a shower gel, I've not found anything better. It lathers nicely, it feels lovely on the skin, and the consistency is great - not too thick, not too runny, and a little goes a long way. And the honey really does soften the skin, too. It even works well as a shampoo, if you've run out/forgotten to bring it - in the (brief) time that I went to the gym, I'd just chuck a 100ml bottle of Flying Fox in the bottom of my gym bag to use in the showers afterwards, and my hair always came out beautifully silky.
Well, I think I may finally have exhausted the subject. Please feel free to leave me any feedback - I appreciate that I went into a lot of detail, and that won't be changing, but if there's any way I can make it a better read, let me know! And definitely tell me if I missed anything!
Lots of Lush
Coralie