Lush Just Launched a Holiday Gift Box of Their Worst Scent Ever

It takes a brave woman to hide behind a computer screen and type the truth. But here I sit, well aware that Lushies (people who work at Lush, love Lush, or both) are some of the most perseverant, peppy and astrologically intelligent folks on the planet. And I’m criticizing a scent that the company clearly loves.

And Lushies (who work at Lush), I feel you. I spent a chunk of my late teens working at Bath and Body Works. They aren’t the same! you scream. Lush is all-natural and does recycling! you cry. Hear me out. I know there is nothing worse than someone coming into the store you work at and complaining about the smell. Like, lady, I am 16 years old, I do not physically pick the Japanese Cherry Blossoms and stir them into the lotion myself. You can leave anytime. I have to stay until my mom picks me up. At least I’m making $10.12 an hour!

All that aside: when I received an email last week that Lush is releasing a holiday limited edition collection featuring Snow Fairy—a sickeningly sweet, plastic-smelling atrocity of a scent that somehow reeks of artificial additives even though the company doesn’t use those—I was shocked. Do other people like Snow Fairy?

In a rage, I messaged a friend about it.

I’m preserving this individual’s identity for their own safety.

Lush describes Snow Fairy as “pink bubblegum, cotton candy, and a touch of sparkling fairy dust.” I would describe it as this:

Say a young child eats too much cotton candy and then goes on a rollercoaster. Say they get a tummy ache. Say the kid’s parents lack communicative skills, and one gives them Pepto Bismol and the other cherry cough syrup. Say the kid vomits, but into a dollar-store balloon. Oh, and the kid also swallowed a Barbie shoe earlier.

That full balloon. That’s the smell. Sweet, strong, medical. Like aliens who had never been to earth before tried to make “pink” in a lab.

But, according to Lush, it’s been the most popular holiday scent for a decade. They even made a (very adorable and beautiful) animation to announce this new limited edition set.

I was floored. I posted on my Instagram story to see if other people had the same reaction. The question I asked was “What is Lush’s worst scent?”

As you can see, reception was mixed. To be honest, I was expecting more replies that enthusiastically agreed with my opinion. I headed to Lush’s website to see what reviewers said. On the site, the Snow Fairy shower gel has 4.3 out of 5 stars, and 82% of people would recommend it to a friend. I couldn’t believe it. A trip to the worst reviews left me feeling a little more validated:

But that’s the worst of it. There are 25 five star reviews. Folks called it “Sooooooo yummy!!!!!!!” “good enough to eat!!” and “my all time favorite Christmas scent of all time.” In total, that’s nine exclamation marks and two “all times.” Clearly, Snow Fairy has its fans.

I’m not one of them. I think its terrible. But as the very friendly and understanding Lush North America team notes in a comment above, “not every product will be suited to each person.” For folks like me who are anti-Snow Fairy, might I recommend a festive hippo-shaped bath bomb.

READ MORE: What’s Inside Vancouver’s Lush Factory?