I received a smallish pot of Snow Showers Jelly as part of a Lush Christmas gift set, and today, as I'm off work due to being snowed in, it seemed a suitable opportunity to try it! Shower jellies are not part of my regular Lush purchases, so I was quite keen to see what this one would be like. I remember several years ago I bought one of the frozen shower gels that at the time came in individual portions, like ice cubes, and were designed to be kept in the freezer. I didn't get on too well with it at the time because I always seemed to forget to take it to the bathroom with me, meaning that I had to trail back down to the kitchen wrapped in a towel, and I was never all that thrilled with the contrast between the warm water and the freezing cold shower gel on my skin.

Snow Showers can be frozen, chilled or used at room temperature, and remembering my previous experiences, I opted to try the latter. As snowflakes fell outside the window, it was a struggle to persuade myself to take my slippers off before getting into the shower, let alone attempt to juggle with ice cubes! And I must say, there is an element of juggling involved... this shower jelly has a consistency of blancmange (or indeed, jelly) and when a small scoop is held in your wet hand, it attempts to get away from you and escape down the plug hole. Lush say that the jelly melts slowly in the warm water, and yes, if you rub the jelly against your skin it melt and produces a soft creamy lather, but keeping hold of the bit you have left in your hand is quite a challenge. In a good mood, this might be fun - think Carry On Film style hilarity, but whilst in a bit of a hurry to get showered and dressed, it is probably a bit of an irritation.

However, the Snow Showers shower jelly does feel nice and smooth on the skin, and the scent is just wonderful. It contains cognac and oranges, giving it a festive smell but with a freshness that is invigorating, partly due to the citrus and partly due to the addition of elderflowers. The fragrance is very similar to the Christmas Party bath ballistic, but more subtle.

I will use the rest of this shower jelly, but on occasions when I have time to spare so that I won't feel annoyed by the palaver of using it! Perhaps a frozen jelly would behave better, but it rarely gets hot enough in the UK for me to want to try this, and certainly not in the winter. As this is a festive product it won't be around during (what passes for) the summer to prove itself. No longer available at Lush now that Christmas is over, but look out for it next year if you fancy trying it!