My skin has been feeling really horrid just lately, whether it is the constant change in weather going from warm, to mild to blooming freezing coupled with using the tube far more frequently over the past month than I am used too, or whether it is just me, I am not happy. My skin, though very sensitive, feels quite dry on my cheeks and forehead but is oily across my nose, none of this is out of the ordinary but I can usually fix the issues with one or other of my favourite products, but even those didn't make me feel any less self-conscious so as I walked down The Kings Road back towards the tube station after a meeting, I was outside Lush and I decided to have a look at what was on offer.

Yes I am back to my beloved Lush and I am now stocked up on Snow Fairy shower gel for the next 12 months without the fear of running out but I also came across the aptly named 'Steamer Tabs' whilst I was debating buying another bottle of 9to5 cleanser. Having been approached by a Sales Assistant for the first time ever, I was asked if I had thought of using the steamer tabs instead because they had proven to be quite popular with regular customers.

A Lush Dream Steam, Steamer Tab (or the Steamer Tab as I shall call it in this review) is about the size of Thornton's premium chocolate when sat in the palm of your hand. It is perfectly round in shape and this particular one is a creamy coloured tab but little pieces of Fresh Rose Petals dried into the tab, which makes it a little less bland to look at. Unsurprisingly it smells wonderful and for me this is one of the things I love about Lush, the smell of their products, I understand that some people think the shops are too smelly and give you a headache, I used to think the same until I actually entered one and found the smell of the shop outside on the street wasn't the smell you were greeted with when you entered the shop. But to me each item or product has its own smelling identity and whilst many stand out from the crowd with their weird and wacky colours and shapes, some sit quietly in the background waiting to be discovered, like this product.

So what exactly is a Steamer Tab and more to the point what does it do? Having used a Lush Toner Tab before I expected the process would work in a similar fashion only these Steamer Tabs are slightly bigger in size and a lot more expensive at £2.50 each compared to the Tea Tree Toner tab at 75p each. Anyway I was feeling miserable and wanted to try it. The main idea behind a Steamer Tab is that the combined essential oils work together and act as a facial sauna and it works quite simply. Take your Tab, which are sold singularly and drop it into a bowl of steaming hot water. The water needs to be steaming hot because through the steam the essential oils are released and are able to work their magic. Once you place the Tab into the water, it mimics the actions of a Bath Ballistic because it whizzes around in the water and as it fizzes away, which as with the Ballistic is due to Sodium Bicarbonate which helps to soften the water making the products kinder to your skin, you could smell the Tea Tree Oil and some Lavender Oil.

The good thing about these Steamer Tabs is that you don't need a lot of water to make them work, if you use too much water you are at risk of drowning out the fragrance, all you need is for the water to be hot enough to be steamy. So, on a recommendation from the Lush Lady, I used a pint and a half of steaming hot water from my kettle and put it into my bowl (not the one I use to wash up with or the one I use to change the water in my aquarium). Then as I did when I was a child full of cold, my Mum would use Vick's Vapour rub and mix it into the water so the steam would help clear my sinuses, I put a towel over my head to keep the steam in one place, I put my head over the bowl and allowed the steam to give my face a steam sauna. Now because the steam and the contents within the bowl are hot, you might need to give yourself a break after about 5 minutes, I used my Tab for 15 minutes before I felt I had had enough and I did have a break. Once you have had your break you can continue the process until the water is no longer hot enough to use. Once you have finished with your facial sauna, using a cotton wool ball or pad, gently wash away any traces of cleanser or dirt from your face, neck and chest which have been pushed to the surface of your skin from the facial sauna. So you pretty much have two different products in one tiny tablet.

So within this Steamer Tab are a few main ingredients to mention. The first being Tea Tree Oil which whilst fairly pungent it isn't as overpowering as the Tea Tree Toner tabs, which for me is an added bonus because I don't like Tea Tree Oil to overpower everything. However, Tea Tree Oil is used as an antibacterial for your skin to keep it clean and prevent infections and outbreaks of spots. Add to that Lavender Oil which soothes, tones and revitalises the skin. Rose Absolute which is a great moisturiser and it also helps to improve the appearance of your skin by calming redness and irritation, which for me is especially useful on my cheeks where I had bouts of dry skin. Chamomile Blue Oil is calming for the mind, body and soul and is soothing for both the emotions and the skin but it works well with Tea Tree Oil because it too has antiseptic properties to protect the skin. Finally the fresh rose petals which I mentioned earlier, initially I thought they were just used to make the product look a little more exciting than a round blob on your palm, but apparently they were dried into the Steamer Tab because they too have toning and soothing qualities for the skin. All of these ingredients together also promote a calming effect leaving you feeling at ease and stress free hence the name 'Dream Steam'. For further ingredients contained within this product you will find them available on the Lush website.

Knowing what I was supposed to do with this product when I opened the package was a bit of a relief but had I not known there are some easy to use instructions on a leaflet I was given and also on-line. Unsurprisingly I was impressed with this Steamer Tab. After you have used it for the first time you feel refreshed and calm and as your face cools down your skin initially begins to tighten and becomes soft to the touch. A few minutes after using my skin definitely felt much cleaner than it had done prior to using it and where I had been experiencing dry skin on my cheeks was now all gone and in place of a small dry patch of skin was soft smooth skin. As with using a Toner Tab, I was quite shocked at how much dirt was removed from my pores, particularly around my nose, when I wiped my skin with a cotton wool pad using the water from the bowl, which had cooled slightly but was still warm because I cleanse, tone and moisturise every day, but to see the dirt and grime was still a shock. Once you have patted your skin dry there is definitely no need to add any moisturising cream like you would need to with a face mask for example, because your skin is soft and smooth to the touch and it was noted that the fragrant aroma smell of Lavender was still evident a few hours after use.

So would I recommend this product? Yes I definitely do because it is absolutely brilliant, I loved using it. I am someone who likes to pamper herself, which you might have noticed and this is definitely a product which allows me to do just that with minimal effort and fuss. It is easy to use but at £2.50 per treatment, because you can only use this Steamer Tab once, it is more expensive than the Toner Tab, which to all intents and purposes does a very similar job and costs three times less than this Steamer Tab. However, as a one off treat on a very ad-hoc basis, I think it is great and it did clean and cleanse my skin, opened my pores and removed dirt and grime and left me with a lovely glowing, but feeling complexion.