TLC Time with LUSH Shades of Earl Grey

I'm not into the current 50 Shades of Grey mania going on right now. I've stayed away from reading that whole mess--though I've recently read a very detailed, delightfully snarky recap of the first book that basically confirmed all my suspicions and more. But even awful, inexplicably popular clouds can come with silver linings: (1) women talking more openly about sex, yay! (2) all the lovely grey nail polish releases going on; and (3) LUSH's new Shades of Earl Grey massage bar.

Yes, with a description that asks you to "draw the shades, grab a partner and get ready to whip your skin into shape", even LUSH is getting in on a slice of the 50SoG pie. But if you know me, you know I can never resist Earl Grey anything; I just had to try Shades of Earl Grey. Initially the plan was to have bf give me a massage with this--all in the name of science, of course--but I was too busy playing Kingdom Hearts 1.5 ran out of time, so my review today is based on self-use.

Like most LUSH massage bars, Shades of Earl Grey has a high cocoa butter and shea butter base, which is intensely hydrating. It warms up easily against body temperature and leaves behind stripes of liquefied cocoa and shea butter to massage in. I used it on my legs and loved the luxurious experience of running the bar up my shins, feeling the bar melt slightly and impart this cocoa/shea  butter oil, and massaging it all in. My legs are extremely dry, so I repeated the process once or twice to get really silky skin. Meanwhile, the scents of the bergamot, persian lime, and lemon oils in the bar are being released and filled the whole room with an uplifting citrus scent (seriously, it's really potent stuff!) There's also something a little sexy and sultry, a little jasmine-like to the fragrance that I liked as well. I wouldn't quite describe it as an "Earl Grey" scent though--it has the requisite bergamot, but it's missing the earthiness from black tea leaves.

I am so incredibly lazy about moisturizing my body, but using a LUSH massage bar makes the process much more pleasant. Squeezing some lotion in my hand and rubbing it all in feels kind of like a chore; drawing long, silky stripes of oil feels a lot more like pampering myself, and it seems to absorb more readily too.

Have a partner that you'd love to treat to a real TLC rub-down this Valentine's Day? This massage bar is perfect, less messy than conventional massage oil, and travels well too due to its solid form (for those romantic getaways! be careful of very hot climates though.) Don't have a partner or want some self-care time? Also good. Seriously you can't go wrong here.

FYI my bar is pictured inside a LUSH massage bar tin, which is sold separately for $3.95. Other new LUSH massage bars you may want to check out: Dirty (infused with their popular Dirty perfume), Yes Yes Yes (a must if you're a jasmine lover!), and Pearl (Rose Jam-scented, with bubble tea-inspired tapioca pearls.) See the full range here.

Ingredients: fair trade organic cocoa butter (Theobroma cacao) , fair trade shea butter (Butyrospermum parkii), bergamot oil (Citrus Aurantium bergamia), fragrance, persian lime oil (Citrus aurantifolia), lemon oil (Citrus limonum), hydroxycitronellol, citral, geraniol, eugenol, limonene, linalool

Available at LUSH: $10.95 CAD / 50 g