Recently

30 June 2014

Calacas Shower Gel


One thing I've never understood when it comes to Lush, is how they decide which products are to be made permanent members of their range, and which products are released as 'one-off' specials. Obviously, I'm intelligent enough to recognise that it all boils down to sales and profit, that much I understand. However, when it comes to certain items, these two factors are somewhat blurred and confusing and don't correlate with the popularity of the product. 

Calacas Shower Gel was last released as a limited edition product back in the early part of 2011, and lasted for a single day before it had completely sold out. Prior to this, the shower gel has reared it's head during various other limited edition releases around the world but never been a member of the permanent family. This confuses me greatly. 

To me, this shower gel is the greatest invention that Lush have ever come up with; the best product on the planet; an opinion that seems to be echoed by hundreds, if not thousands of Lushies around the world. 

The shower gel possesses a beautiful uplifting lemon and lime scent - a zesty and slightly tart fragrance that reminds me of jelly beans and fruit pastille sweets. Featuring a blend of neroli essential oils and lime oil, Calacas is a sweet, fruity concoction unlike any other smell to come from Lush. No matter how many different citrus products you've tried in the past, I can guarantee that you've never smelt anything as beautiful as Calacas

Despite my bottle being almost three years old, the smell that hit me when opening the lid was stunning. Not only this but it's lime green appearance catches your eye immediately; a super-gorgeous and highly appealing colour that stands out above all other Lush shower gels. 


Fans who have purchased a bottle through the Lush Kitchen, will notice that although the consistency has stayed the same, the colour has changed. This new lighter, yellow-shaded shower gel is due to many fans complaining about the old design turning a funny colour and looking rather unappealing a few months after purchase. Lush have obviously reformulated the product so it won't do this - unfortunately losing the gorgeous colour that it was previously. 


Although initially released as a Halloween product, this shower gel is a perfect companion throughout the entire year. In winter - it's cheery smell awakens the senses and makes those early morning starts a little less painful; in summer, it's zesty aroma gives you a wonderful boost to start the day.

Calacas is a thick shower gel, very similar in consistency to The Comforter or Ponche, although this one does feel slightly denser in consistency. It doesn't lather up as easily as the aforementioned, however that's not to say it doesn't work fantastically well in the shower. It lathers up nicely on a loofa, sponge or shower puff, so very little needs to be used each time, and leaves your skin feeling wonderfully soft.

Although not as strong as the jelly of the same name, this product is a wonderful addition to anyone's bathroom and should be made a permanent member of their range. I know that fans are lucky to be able to purchase this through the kitchen, I can only hope that Lush choose to release this shower gel again, at least so I can stock up on a handful of bottles to last me through the year. I cannot rate it high enough.

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Aloe Vera Gel(Aloe barbadensis), Sodium LaurethSulfate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, LaurylBetaine, Propylene Glycol, Perfume, Lime Oil (Citrus aurantifolia), Olibanum Oil (Boswelliacarterii), Neroli Oil (Citrus Aurantiumamara), Lactic Acid, *Citral, *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 42090, Colour 45350, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes.

2015 Price: £10.25 for 250g.
2016 Price: £11.00 for 250g.
2017 Price: £11.25 for 250g.

Scent Family:
Calacas Shower Gel
Calacas Shower Jelly
Calacas/Day of The Dead Perfume
Lady Catrina Soap
Man In The Moon Bubble Bar
Monsters' Ball Bath Bomb
Skullduggery Ballistic


18 comments

  1. Hi, love your blog! Out of calacas, black pearl, comforter and twilight, which 2 shower gels would you get? I have no idea which ones to get and since you know what each is like I could use your opinion :) thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've never smelt any of them either Natalie, but I think it depends what smell you prefer. Calacas sounds citrusy, Comforter is fruity/black currant where as both Twilight and Black Pearl are advertised as relaxing with Lavender. My choice is Calacas and Comforter, but I've picked up a Black Pearl as it seems to be very rare

      Delete
    2. Phillippa, I completely agree with you - it depends what your favourite smells are. I would be hard pressed to choose two out of the above four but I'd probably go for Calacas as it's gorgeously refreshing and highly citrus, and probably Twilight, because it's something completely different - very calming and gentle and super moisturising. Having said that, these four are all favourites of mine so it's difficult to choose :)

      Delete
    3. Haha Jen I'm probably going to have to pick up a Twilight to try now!!! If you're on fb add me :)

      Delete
  2. I never try any lush shower gel. So which do you recommend?
    what is your favorite?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My all-time favourite shower gel is probably either Calacas, Karma, Ponche and Twilight, although I also love The Olive Branch. If you're looking for something regular, I highly recommend The Olive Branch as it has such an original smell and is perfect for the summer. However, if you're looking to get one of the Kitchen Shower Gels, I'll have to go for good old Calacas :)

      Delete
  3. Calacas sounds divine, and definitely up my alley! I'll have to research that one!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi! I bet you knew this already but they're releasing it Friday in the kitchen!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Jen,
    I'm excited this is coming back this week and I'm definitely interested in buying a bottle.
    However, I'm a bit funny when it comes to overly citrus scents. I do like it (for example I love lemon melt and I think happy hippy is pleasant but a bit boring) but then I really HATE Whoosh shower jelly. I find it to be so overbearing, it gives me a headache. Is Calacas similar? You've raved about Calacas so much so I'm really interested in getting it.

    Thanks in advance! Always come to your blog for advice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there - while I do love calacas, I do find it to be quite a strong scent and it can smell rather acidic in the shower. While I'm happy to recommend it to everyone, if you find Whoosh Jelly overwhelming, I find Calacas much stronger and more 'in your face'.

      Let me know if you decide to get a bottle - I'd hate to think I'd put you off and then you'd discover that you'd actually love it!

      Delete
    2. I put an order in... Calacas is so infamous I just had to! I'm sure I'll like it anyway, because it sounds like a unique scent rather than just a typical lemon-lime citrus (like Whoosh) and I like anything that stands out so I'll let you know when it arrives!

      Delete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Jen, I was just wondering if you've ever noticed anything similar to this (as someone who buys many shower gels from the kitchen)

    I keep my shower gels scattered about really, so I don't tend to compare them in size although I expect/know the 250g bottles to be the same.

    Anyway, I have realised today that my 250g bottle of Calacas is actually QUITE a bit smaller than any other 250g bottle I've ever received (from the kitchen or purchased in-store)

    Have you ever noticed this before? The bottle is about 3cm shorter and a bit thinner too. Extremely odd... I've contacted customer service anyway because I don't think this is acceptable. When you consider the prices we pay for these products as well as postage, I expect better quality tbh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How strange! When did you buy these Calacas'? Was it the second round or the first? I've just had a look at mine and compared them and they're the same size as both the Snowcake and the Twilight bottles that I purchased fairly recently. My bottles were from the first ever release of them in the Kitchen so perhaps they've tried to reduce the size of the bottles without people knowing - how naughty?

      Did you get any response from them? I'd be interested to hear what they have to say!

      Delete
  8. This will be in the Kitchen this Tuesday (Oct 20th), I can't wait to try it!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it's the jelly that's in the Kitchen, but I will say that jelly is actually better than the shower gel - in scent, colour and longevity :)

      Delete
    2. You were right, but I was able to snag a bottle when they released it this week, I'm so excited!

      Delete
  9. One way to describe the scent of Calacas is that it smells exactly like Skittles!!!! Smell the rainbow. :)

    ReplyDelete


UP