Lush Sleepy Body Lotion

Do you guys shop at Lush? I don’t shop there often but I have shopped there throughout the years and have a few favorites (Ro’s Argan, Rose Jam, ultrabalm) from there that I pick up from time to time when I’m feeling the need for some pampering bath products. A few months ago when I stopped in to check out the new products I found a tester of this ‘Sleepy’ body lotion, and I was infatuated with the scent. Sadly it was sold out and has been most of the summer because of some online article,  but it recently came back in stock.  It is lavender scented, but not your typical heady floral grandma lavender. Lavender can sometimes be way too strong for me and give me headaches so I shy away from it. Plus, I just really don’t like some of the green notes in lavender – they can be really sharp. This ‘Sleepy’ lavender, however, is both intensely lavender and toned down and mellowed by tonka. It smells more like a lavender latte with caramel drizzle than a bouquet of lavender.

I didn’t buy this product thinking it would be a miracle sleep inducing aromatherapy product, and I am always suspicious of lavender oil as a cure for insomnia. I purchased this because I loved the scent so much and the lotion is really great quality and it just feels like a luxurious thing to use.  I’ve used this a week now though and Oh my goodness, this stuff knocks me out.

I don’t have insomnia (I don’t think…) and I don’t find my sleep habits a problem for me, but I am a severe night owl and will often stay awake until 2 am, and then struggle with waking up at 6 am. I also drink a ton of coffee. My husband hates this because I will watch Netflix on my laptop in bed and it annoys him even though he’s completely asleep and dead to the world, but he hounds me to turn down the light from the center of the sun emanating from my laptop. He just gets frustrated that I’m not a happy camper in the mornings like he is. I’ve come to accept my night owl cycle and haven’t seen it as a problem because I’m often very productive from 10 pm till midnight on my blog or with other stuff I’m working on, or just productive watching Netflix.  Lately though, because of my house move stress and excitement I’ve also become a very light sleeper, and at 4 am I bolt wide awake.

Since using this product for the past week I am now a firm believer in the power of lavender as a sleep aid. I put it on my hands, arms, and neck when I get into bed, and within half an hour I am turning off my computer, rolling over and instantly I fall asleep and stay asleep. I’ve been so well rested this week! I know this may be correlation and other factors could be contributing to my improved sleep cycles this week (certainly not a decrease in caffeine) but I can’t ignore the fact that last week I was bolting awake at 4 am with nervous excitement about our move, and this week I’m now falling asleep instantly and waking up refreshed when the alarm goes off.  I don’t feel like this drugs me to sleep though, I just feel like it sedates that nervous energy I’ve had allowing me to drift off, and stay asleep.

I’m pretty sure you could get the same effect from regular high-quality lavender oil but I like this one a lot because it’s not overly floral, doesn’t cause me headaches and I really love the combination with tonka and ylang-ylang. Sephora carries a line from ‘This works’ called Sleep Pillow Spray  and Sleep Plus+ Dream Body Butter and I’m sure those work just as well too, but I just love this product. I thought I’d recommend it for those of you that have trouble sleeping, travel a lot in different time zones, or are new moms and want to try something natural and a bit indulgent. Best Organic Massage Lotion