Lovehoney Apothecary Seduce range
by Carnalqueen
I love me a little bit of a pamper! It’s probably not something that I make enough time for if I’m honest, so when I got the opportunity to try out some of Lovehoney’s Apothecary range, I was thrilled – now I’d got an excuse to indulge! There are currently two scents available, Seduce and Arouse. I opted for Seduce, as the fragrance profile sounded amazing; saffron, patchouli, jasmine, amber, cedar and vanilla. I love all of those individual scents, so I was pretty sure this would be right up my Straße – I have to say it did not disappoint! The aroma is utterly divine. Warm and inviting, Seduce is the perfect name to describe the notes that will tantalise your senses. It’s heady, amberesque and blended beautifully to create a fragrance that is a little bit exotic, erotic and comforting all at the same time.
All of the pieces are packaged modestly, which means they aren’t going to be raising any eyebrows if they’re spotted lying around by any visitors or house members. They’re understated and unassuming; it’s all about what’s on the inside, and nothing else matters.
Let’s take a look …
Apothecary Seduce Scent Massage Oil
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with massage oils if I’m honest. I LOVE the experience of a full-body massage, but I generally HATE the way my skin is left feeling like the bottom of a chip pan afterwards. Over the years we’ve found a few bottled massage oils that are better than most, but I still feel like the majority of them are just too greasy, and well, oily!
This one was a pleasant surprise. The first thing I said as CK started to rub the oil into my skin was that it felt like quite a dry oil. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that before. Facial oils, yes, but never a dry massage oil. I thought that might lead to more being used, but CK said the slip it created on the skin was just enough – and the way his hands were able to glide over my naked skin, I’d say I’d have to agree!
The scent as it lingers around the body is beautiful, and long after the massage is over you continue to get the occasional waft, which is lovely. Of course, you can tell you’ve used an oil, but you’re not left feeling like a slippery eel, and it sinks in well enough that it doesn’t get all over the sheets and everywhere else. Definitely not sticky or tacky, it’s an absolute pleasure to use. The 100ml bottle means you’re going to get quite a lot of massages out of it, but it’s also great for just chucking in a bag if you’re going away and want to take it with you. It leaves my skin beautifully scented and deliciously soft, it’s a total winner! We both love it 😀
Worth noting, this oil contains nut oil, so isn’t suitable if you have a nut allergy.
Apothecary Seduce Scent Bubble Bath
Have you even had a bath if you’re not bathing in a mountain of fluffy bubbles? For me, bubbles in a bath are almost as important as the water itself! This 250ml bottle will give you plenty of tubs full of delicate, soft bubbles, just run under warm water and enjoy.
The scent is immediately recognisable as being from the Seduce range, it’s warm and sensual and is the perfect fragrance to relax in the bath with. I was expecting the aroma to hang heavily in the air in the bathroom, but that isn’t the case at all. Yes, it fragrances the air in a delicate way, but after a bath the scent dissipates quickly, and it doesn’t linger, which for me is a bit of a shame. It also doesn’t really cling to the skin; once you’re out the bath and dry, that deliciously seductive and exotic aroma has all but vanished.
The volume of the bubbles does naturally decrease the longer you stay in the bath, but they don’t all fully disappear. I’m also really glad that it doesn’t leave any residue in the tub, as there’s nothing worse than having to scrub away at a bubble bath tide-line when you step out from a long soak all relaxed and de-stressed.
I’ve really enjoyed using this Apothecary Seduce bubble bath, but for me, it’s not something I think I would bother replenishing. Not because it’s not enjoyable, because it really is lovely. I just don’t think we’d get the use of it in the way that would add much value to our enjoyment of the range. I think if you take lots of baths together, and plan to start with a soak in the Seduce bubbles before moving on to a beautiful massage, then great. You’ll be adding to the overall olfactory experience. For me though, it would need to be a much stronger scent profile that lingered on the skin and in the air, for me to feel like it was entirely worth it.
Apothecary Seduce Scent Massage Candle
Massage candles are probably my favourite type of massage product. There’s just something about pouring warm or hot wax onto bare skin and using it to knead the muscles and caress the skin. As the receiver of the massage, I tend to find them more relaxing and more sensual, and obviously that’s a huge bonus. I also find the scent of a massage candle seems to envelope me more, and it usually lingers for longer too.
The Apothecary Seduce Massage Candle is hands down my favourite piece from this trio of products. The aroma this baby delivers is on another level. Yes, it smells like the rest of the range, but it also has a more smoky, earthy undertone to it, which really ramps up the SEXY. I did wonder at first if that was just due to the burning wick, but even the lingering scent it leaves behind is loaded with the heady, erotic warmth. It’s just delicious!
It only needs to burn for a few minutes for a pool of useable oil to form on the surface of the wax. You should blow it out before pouring the oil from the little spout, but I like the oil as hot as can be, so CK is careful and pours whilst it’s still lit. Sadly, we don’t find the fragrance fills the room when it’s burning, as some massage candles do. You have to be right over the candle to really pick up the scent, although as soon as you start to work with the oil, you’re shrouded in the gorgeous aroma anyway.
CK did find the oil needed quite a bit of work once it was on the skin. It starts to solidify almost immediately on contact, so much so, you can poor some on the back of your hand and tilt it, and it usually firms up enough to stop it running and dripping off. Now I don’t mind this at all, it means he really rubs and kneads to get the oil back into a workable form, which leads to a more intense and focused massage for me.
Overall, the oil isn’t sticky or greasy, and whilst it does leave a slight waxy residue, it certainly doesn’t cover your sheets and create a mess. Some massage candles have left me feeling like I’ve needed to shower them off afterwards, but this one isn’t at all like that. I’m happy to really enjoy the massage and any *ahem* activities that invariably follow it, then roll over and drift off into the most relaxing sleep. I love it when I turn over in the night and get a whiff of the fragrance, which instantly takes me back to the fun we had the night before.
All in all, this is a collection of really beautiful pamper products. The massage oils are undoubtedly my favourite, and I’ve spotted that they also do a reed diffuser which I think is going to be a must for the bedroom for us. The Seduce fragrance is exquisite, and is definitely now my favourite scent for a massage product, EVER. I really can’t recommend it enough!
Lovehoney kindly gifted us these three products from the Apothecary Seduce range, but that doesn’t alter my opinions or thoughts in any way, which are solely mine. If you want to check out the Apothecary Seduce range for yourself, you can click through using the appropriate link for your region:
Affiliate links have been used in this post. Thank you if you choose to shop using my links, it adds no further cost to you, but supports my blog and means a lot 😀