Shower gels

It won't surprise anyone to know that I am fussy about shower gels. They have to be just right - beautifully fragrant, not drying, nice lather-up effect but not a snowstorm, easy to rinse off. But the main feature I look for is a natural scent. So many smell artificial.

I've done the research for you. I am so kind. I can tell you, without hesitation, that Lush make the best shower gels. This is why it was so scandalous when they discontinued them all a few years back and bought out shower jellies. The stupidest invention ever. Who has room in the shower for plastic cases of jelly? And who wants ugly plastic cases in the shower? I could rant for some time but let's focus on what Lush does well.

Yes, the shower gels are really very nice. All essential oils and whatnot so they pass the fragrance test. My favourites are The Olive Branch - a lovely orange scent but with an olive note. Lush blend essential oils very well and I really do think their shower gels are great value as they pack in the oils. I also like Taai Taai but you can only get this in the Westfield branch. It's spicy and orangey. My all-time favourite was Freeze - a peppermint, zingy gel that would get your bits tingling off a morning. Perfect for hot Summer days - remember them? Me neither. You can now buy this in the Retro section of the Lush site but it annoys me it isn't in the shops. They do one called Sonic Death Monkey (great name) which is chocolate scented. I draw the line at chocolate shower gel - I find it a bit icky.

If you feeling rich, then the most perfect shower gel is Moroccan Rose by Ren. I've already talked about my love of this.

I would also say that you don't need much of either the Ren or Lush gels. So although they are more expensive than Imperial Leather/Palmolive/Radox etc, they do last longer.