If you sing in the shower, and you like violet scents, you're the perfect customer for Lush's new Don't Rain on My Parade Shower Gel. Its name is the title of a song from the classic musical Funny Girl, written by Bob Merrill (lyrics) and Jule Styne (music). Barbra Streisand sang "Don't Rain on My Parade" in the original Broadway production and movie version of Funny Girl, and numerous other artists have covered this song over the past half-century. It's a defiant hymn to self-confidence:
Don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter / Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter / Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade / Don't tell me not to fly, I've simply got to / If someone takes a spill, it's me and not you / Who told you you're allowed to rain on my parade?
I do have a shower-humming habit and a love for the Great American Songbook, not to mention an especial fondness for violets, so I couldn't wait to sniff and try Don't Rain on My Parade. Lush's shower gels tend to be brightly colored, and this one is a deep teal shade. (Why not purple? Maybe they didn't want it to look too similar to their Daddy-O shampoo.) Its ingredients include real violet leaf infusion and vanilla absolute, plus extracts of cassie, sandalwood, vetiver and ylang ylang. Lush is touting "fresh-squeezed blueberry juice" as one of the most noteworthy ingredients here, but it's probably being used for its antioxidant benefits than its fragrance; this is definitely a violet product, with a touch of sweetness from the vanilla and plenty of earthiness from the sandalwood and vetiver.
The scent of Don't Rain on My Parade reminds me of Lush's discontinued Tuca Tuca perfume, a fragrance that I enjoyed sniffing from the bottle more than wearing on my skin; it was just a little too brash for me. (I still need to try Kerbside Violet, which Robin found to be milder than Tuca Tuca.) As a shower gel, however, this violet-ylang-vetiver blend is just the right balance of weird and wonderful. It's not a candied-violet scent or a Victorian bouquet, nor is it a typical morning "pick-me-up" scent (citrus or green notes, right?), but I find it reassuring (floral notes!) and, yes, confidence-inducing (thanks to the woods).
Don't Rain on My Parade leaves a lingering fragrance on skin, and it would pair nicely with perfumes like Balanciaga Paris, Sonoma Scent Studio Wood Violet or any woodsy violet of your choice. As you can tell, I'm already a fan, and I hope it will remain in the Lush product catalogue for a good long time.
Lush Don't Rain on My Parade Shower Gel is sold in 100 ml ($12.95) and 250 ml ($26.95) bottles through Lush stores and the Lush website.
Most of the new/seasonal Lush products look good this year. I’m traveling next week and will be near a store; I want to check out the Lord Of Misrule shower gel, which is patchouli, peppercorn and black pepper. And the licorice bubble bar. And whatever that gold glitter pumpkin thing is. Ahh, I’m so excited!
Gah, I know. I sniffed Lord of Misrule and I reeeally liked it. I’m also curious about the Wash That Man Right out of My Hair shower gel, which hasn’t arrived at my local Lush store yet, because it’s floral and because it’s named for one of my favorite showtunes ever!
I have this and like it very much. As you say, it is all about the violet, with a few other accents thrown in. I wish that Lush had more violet scents; right now I believe the only other violet they have, at least in the US, is the Daddy-O shampoo.
I also have the Lord of Misrule shower gel, and it is fantastic. It smells just like the bath bomb, which is my favorite bath bomb of all time. I have been wishing for a LoM shower gel so I could get that scent in a shower-friendly format.
One new product that I do not care for is the Beautiful shower gel. It sounded promising, but I find it underwhelming. One of the drawbacks of the heavily scented atmosphere of a Lush shop is that it makes it difficult to assess the scent of a particular product in the store. What I find with Beautiful is that the scent is fine, but far too weak. Perhaps if they quadrupled the amount of fragrance in the formula it would work, but as it is it fades out before I am even done with my shower (not so with LoM or DRoMP). In this way it reminds me of their Prince Charming shower gel that they had for Valentine’s Day a couple years ago. It too was weakly scented and disappointing.
I think I smelled Beautiful in the store…it smells like peach juice. Very fun and cheerful, but definitely not as complex as the others!
I don’t mind it not being complex, I just wish it were stronger. I will probably end up using it a liquid hand soap. That is how I use up unloved shower gels. We always need hand soap, and I don’t mind so much whether they are well-scented or not. I do like for my shower gels to have some impact, though. I want the scent to fill the shower, not just be a faint whiff.
I stopped in Lush recently to see what they had that was new and got a sample of this. I have to say the color completely turns me off, but I’m a huge rose jam fan and so new shower gels that come out I always want to try.
I love violet and so now that I better understand the notes I have a feeling I’ll like it better than the first time around.
It’s funny how that happens. Before I know what the notes are I may not like it, but then when I’m able to recognize with the notes are and it makes sense, I like it.
I’m not crazy about the color, either, but the smell is right up my alley. I know what you mean — it’s like tasting something new. Sometimes you just want to know the details of whatever you’re experiencing with your senses!
Jessica, have you tried Alaïa yet? It’s an interesting modern violet.
I was considering buying Lord of Misrule given that I am a patchouli fiend and still haven’t forgiven Lush for discontinuing Tramp, but this one sounds lovely too – especially if it’s similar to Kerbside Violet, which is delicious. It’s so hard to distinguish a scent in their heavily perfumed shops though, I always end up feeling numb-nosed and exhausted, so I never really browse…
Now I’m lemming all these Lush shower gels …
I am not normally a violet fan, but the scent of my Daddy-O shampoo has so grown on me that I got a small bottle of the Don’t Rain on My Parade gel, and I really do like it! You described it perfectly–not too candy-sweet and with a good touch of woodsiness. (I like Barbra’s version, but I’m also a big fan of Bobby Darin’s “Don’t Rain on My Parade.”)
I also have a bottle of Lords of Misrule and like it very much.
Hi Jessica: Thanks for this review. I may need to pick up a bottle of this (or at least sample at the shop). I do like violet, and it sounds interesting.
Last time I was at LUSH I left with a mix of disappointment and rage as I went specifically to buy some Flying Fox shower gel. Boom. Discontinued. Made me almost have no further use for LUSH, though I’ll always be a fan of Rose Jam seasonal shower gel. I’ve practically given up hope I’ll ever get to smell Kerbside Violet (would have bought it in a minute if it were even available online only).
This does not smell like violet to me at all, and after reading the label I see why – it says violet leaf, which has a woody/petrol smell to me as opposed to a violet flower smell. I do like it though – reminds me a bit of old Dior Fahrenheit.
Jessica, heads up: Rose Jam is back! I picked up a 500 ml bottle for my sister yesterday. I also grabbed a sample of Lord of Misrule Shower Cream which I cannot wait to try. Sniffed from the bottle, it smells exactly like the bath bomb which I love. I’ll just have to see how it does in the shower. The color and consistency are very strange, like bright green craft paint.
Thanks for the review. I’ll have to check this one out the next time I’m in a Lush store.