Every year, the countdown to Christmas in one family includes the launch of Lush's Snow Fairy, a festive favourite that sells out quickly. This year, they managed to get hold of Aldi's Sweet Angel, a £1.99 version that has been praised online as smelling "exactly like" the £24 original. They put both to the test.
First Impressions: Look and Smell
Both shower gels come in similar clear bottles containing a pink liquid. When poured out, both are thick and creamy, but there is one visual difference: the Lush version has a glitter shimmer, while the Aldi one does not.
In a sniff test, the two were closely matched. Lush describes Snow Fairy as "bubblegum-scented" and calls it "the scent of the century". Aldi describes Sweet Angel as "a magical, sweet smelling shower gel enriched with natural strawberry extract and moisturisers". The tester, Eve, said the Aldi version smelled "almost exactly like" the Lush product, though she slightly preferred the Aldi scent. The Aldi fragrance did not last as long, but that was not an issue once dressed.
The Shower Experience and Environmental Claims
When using them, both performed remarkably similarly, with the Aldi version matching Snow Fairy in bubble quantity and creaminess. Both left skin feeling soft and silky. Eve noted she had to use slightly more of the Aldi gel for the same effect, but at the price, it was still a bargain.
Lush has made a change to its Snow Fairy this year, moving towards a more environmentally-friendly product. Lush Co-Founder and Product Inventor Helen Ambrosen said: "One aim has been to create liquid shower gels and shampoos using surfactants that are palm free. Our shampoo bars are not palm based and we are very proud of that. As our shower gels are our main product that uses palm-based materials, we felt this would be the best place to start. There are very few non-palm-based shampoo bases that we can work with so we worked out a way of using the same surfactant as in the shampoo bars but in liquid form."
"With all this work behind the scenes, our new palm-free Snow Fairy is very special to us, an ongoing project that we are very proud of, finally ready to hit our shelves. Try this innovative new formula which is both self-preserving and now palm free!"
The whole Snow Fairy range is vegan and cruelty-free, using Synthetic Fluorphlogopite for the shimmer, which is plastic-free. Aldi's Lacura Sweet Angel range is also vegan and cruelty-free, though it is unclear whether it contains palm oil, as it lists some ingredients often derived from it.
Price and Verdict
Snow Fairy comes in four sizes: 115g for £7.50, 290g for £16, 580g for £24, and 1kg for £36. Aldi's Lacura Sweet Angel Shower Gel is available in one size at £1.99 for 500ml.
Eve concluded: "Both products look and feel almost identical and the smell is very similar. If anything I prefered the Aldi smell and there was one other big difference between the two." She added: "Snow Fairy is known not only for its gorgeous smell but for its beautiful shimmer. While Sweet Angel has the smell there is no glittery shine in the gel. To be honest I liked this better as it felt less artificial and natural on my skin."
Her overall verdict: "The two were very similar on most areas and if I had to vote for my favourite it would be Sweet Angel - both on price and because I prefer it without the shimmer."
