It’s that time of year again.
The nights are beginning to draw in, there’s a definite nip in the air and suddenly staying at home on a Friday night doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.
Autumn can be a bit of an odd season. It’s that stepping stone between summer and winter when one day you’re wondering whether you can get away without a coat and the next you’re digging through the cupboard looking for the heating controls.
But there is another way of looking at it.
It’s the perfect excuse for a night in, a long hot bath and a cuddle up on the sofa. And Lush is giving us plenty of reasons to embrace exactly that this year.
We popped along to Lush in Cardiff to get a closer look at its new seasonal collections for 2026 and, well, there is quite a lot to get your head around.
The fresh handmade cosmetics retailer has gone big this year, with autumnal scents, Halloween creations, returning favourites and enough Christmas goodies to make even the most determined ‘Christmas doesn’t start until December’ person begin to waver.
And yes, Snow Fairy is back.
Autumn has arrived, and it smells incredible
First up is Lush’s new Autumn Gourmand collection, which is essentially autumn in cosmetic form.
Think bonfires, spices, vanilla, warming drinks and the sort of smells that make you want to shut the curtains, put your comfiest clothes on and forget the outside world exists for a few hours.
The range launched in August and takes inspiration from what Lush describes as those nostalgic autumn rituals and scents that immediately tell us the season is changing.
There are some familiar faces too.
Lord Of Misrule is back as a bath bomb, bringing its distinctive combination of patchouli, black pepper and sweet vanilla. This year’s version has been reworked to create more vivid colours and bath art as it fizzes away.
Then there’s Bonfire, and this one really does what it says on the tin. Or rather, bath bomb.
Star anise, cinnamon sticks, orange and cloves combine to give it a rich, warming scent, while popping candy adds little crackles as it dissolves. It even comes wrapped in biodegradable muslin to keep all those whole spices contained rather than leaving you fishing bits out of the bath afterwards.
Sparkly Pumpkin is another one that screams autumn. Inspired by seasonal drinks, it contains oat milk powder alongside lime, juniper berry and geranium.
There are plenty more pumpkins to choose from too.
Punkin Pumpkin is back for another year, alongside a Toffee Apple bath bomb that genuinely looks and smells almost too good to use.
Another returning favourite is the three-part pumpkin tealight, which doubles up as a bath bomb. This year Lush has improved the packaging too, with the aim of making sure your little pumpkin actually survives the journey home intact.
And if bath bombs aren’t your thing, the bubble bars are where things get even more interesting.
Swirly Punkin and Bewitched are among the options, in addition Lord of Misrule. Bewitched, with its little black cat design, might actually be too cute to dunk under the water.
Basically, if autumn had a bathroom cabinet, it would probably look a lot like this.
Lush says the collection was inspired by one of its classic sayings: ‘You smell us before you see us.’
Anyone who has walked within about 100 metres of a Lush shop will know exactly what they mean.
The company has also highlighted some of the ingredients behind those smells, including vanilla from farmers in Uganda and organic alcohol used in its gourmand fragrances from a Brazilian supplier whose farms incorporate ‘wildlife islands’ designed to support biodiversity.
Halloween, but make it relaxing
Of course, autumn also means Halloween.
And while there are plenty of spooky creations in Lush’s 2026 collection, the message behind it is actually rather less frightening.
This year Lush is encouraging customers to ‘ghost the grind’, put down the phone and make a bit of time for themselves.
The Halloween collection mixes new products with seasonal favourites and includes everything from bath bombs and body scrubs to some wonderfully strange creations that look almost too good to throw into the bath.
Almost.
One of the strangest has to be the Witch’s Hand shower gummy. Complete with painted purple nails, it looks delightfully spooky but comes with a surprisingly sweet cherry scent.
Then there’s Scarebear.
This cute little green glitter monster is actually a bath bomb, contains cocoa butter and might leave you emerging from the tub with a slight green sparkle. Depending on your Halloween plans, that might be a bonus.
Lord Of Misrule gets a second mention as it makes another appearance here, while pumpkin is naturally a recurring theme. Lush describes the range as ‘cosy-yet-creepy’, with black pepper, patchouli and pumpkin seed oil among the ingredients appearing across the collection.
It’s colourful, it’s fun and it manages to make Halloween feel less about plastic spiders and more about locking the bathroom door and disappearing for an hour.
We can get behind that.
Wait… are we talking about Christmas already?
Yes. We know. It’s still September.
But for the early Christmas shoppers out there, or anyone simply looking for an excuse to start getting festive, Lush has already unveiled a huge new Christmas collection too.
And this is where things really start to get serious.
There are bath bombs, bubble bars, shower gels, soaps, body products, gift sets and, naturally, the return of the ridiculously popular Snow Fairy.
Actually, Snow Fairy isn’t just back. It seems to be bigger and better than ever, appearing in everything from shower gel to candles. If you know someone who spends most of the year waiting for that familiar sweet scent to return, there are plenty of options.
Elsewhere, Christmas Eve, Candy Cane and Christmas Wreath are among this year’s festive bubble bars.
The bath bombs might be even harder to resist.
There’s an adorable Christmas Penguin, alongside Magical Santa, a reindeer and even a Santa on a jet ski. Because apparently even Father Christmas needs a bit of downtime.
The Christmas Ho Ho Ho bath bomb tin is also back. You can fill it with your own selection, making it a particularly nice option if you’re buying for someone who takes their bath time very seriously.
The 2026 collection goes heavy on the smells of Christmas, with combinations of chocolate, orange, spices, mint, caramel and sweet treats appearing throughout.
There are some new additions too.
S’more shower gel arrives this autumn alongside Chocolate Orange, while Yog Nog makes its return.
Cinnamon Spiced Latte has replaced last year’s Pumpkin Spiced Latte, taking things from autumn firmly into that cosy Christmas territory.
And then there’s Yuzu Cheesecake.
The new body spray gives off serious lemon cheesecake vibes. It’s sweet, citrusy and the sort of fragrance that might leave you wondering whether you should be spraying it on yourself or ordering dessert.
Some of the gift sets are almost dangerously tempting too.
The ’Tis The Season gift, for example, brings together the Merry Christmas Everyone bath bomb, Everyone’s On The Nice List soap and Ruby Comet bubble bar. The artwork on its packaging was created by artists from Blue Room, the Bluecoat’s inclusive arts programme supporting learning-disabled and neurodivergent artists in Liverpool.
The artists took inspiration from the plants and wildlife found in their urban garden, creating sketches and leaf prints that were brought together for the final design.
That artistic collaboration runs throughout Lush’s festive offering this year.
The wider Christmas collection features work created with artists and organisations including Blue Room and Manchester-based Venture Arts, alongside other artists and illustrators.
It gives the gift range a genuinely different feel and means there is a story behind some of the boxes before you’ve even opened them.
And then there are the advent calendars…
For the truly committed Lush fan, there’s another level entirely.
Lush has launched three advent calendar options for Christmas 2026, including its first fully reusable fabric version.
Rather than arriving filled, the £35 fabric calendar is designed to be used again and again, with pockets that can be filled with whatever you fancy, whether that’s Lush products, chocolates, little gifts or notes.
Its artwork was created by Andrew Johnstone from Venture Arts, an organisation supporting learning-disabled and neurodivergent visual artists. His distinctive work draws on interests including animals, transport, television and film.
There are also filled advent calendar options for anyone who prefers the surprise to be taken care of for them.
Frankly, opening a tiny door to discover a bath bomb rather than another miniature chocolate isn’t the worst way to count down to Christmas.
Our verdict from Cardiff
Walking around Lush Cardiff, there is an awful lot competing for your attention.
Something is sparkling over there. Something else smells like Christmas dinner’s sweeter cousin. There are pumpkins, witches’ hands, green monsters, penguins, colourful bath bombs and festive gift boxes everywhere you look.
And somehow there’s a Santa on a jet ski.
But perhaps that’s the fun of it.
The seasonal collections don’t take themselves too seriously, and there’s a nice progression from those warming autumn smells through the fun of Halloween and eventually into full Christmas mode.
There are plenty of familiar favourites for people who already have their annual must-buys, but also enough new additions to make a visit worthwhile.
Our advice? Don’t rush autumn.
Enjoy the darker evenings. Have the long bath. Put the comfy clothes on. Light something that smells vaguely of cinnamon. Get on the sofa. Christmas will be here soon enough.
Although, if you happen to leave Lush Cardiff with an advent calendar, a green glitter monster and Santa on a jet ski under your arm in September, we won’t judge.
Find out more about the seasonal collections at Lush.
