Lush Skinny Dip

Let me just share with you the excitement that Lush have been voted 'Best Retailer', 'Best Cosmetics' and 'Top retailer' by readers of Which magazine in 2012!

I love trying new products and would spend a small fortune in Lush given the opportunity. This is a new release Retro product only available on line. I have talked to the people who work in Lush in Derby about why Lush don't send a limited number of Retro stuff to the shops or even do like some shops and you can order on line and collect in a local shop saving the postage. It does annoy me to waste money on postage as often it is more than the product costs and then you are tempted to add more products to make the postage worth while and before you know it you have spent about £50 so at that stage I usually decide that I can live without any of them and log out, buying nothing.

I tend to buy my unusual things from Ebay and just keep on bidding until I get something at a reasonable price. I am careful not to get carried away and bid silly money and always take the postage costs as part of the whole price. I was lucky and made an offer for this and got it for less than i would have paid through Lush so I was quite delighted.

This is marketed as a Butter cream to wash with. It is not exactly a soap although I believe they used to sell it as a soft soap. Mine came in a black tub and it is in the same group of products as Turkish Delight and Dream wash, Lemslip and are a sort of mix between a soap and a bath cream or bath smoothie.
This does come in one of the black recyclable tubs . if you save five tubs ,wash them and take them back to Lush you can choose a FREE fresh face mask or a fresh Hair Doctor in return. I think this is such a generous way of encouraging people to recycle so thank you Lush for that. The solid perfume containers also count as do the clear pots from the shower jellies so don't throw them away and if in doubt save them and ask.

SO IT'S A SOAP THEN?
No, it isn't soap as it doesn't have lather yet it does clean you. The idea is that you take a piece of this and rub or smooth it over you damp body and enjoy a creamy smooth gentle wash with the most wonderful earthy aroma.

I am not sure this would work to get gardening hands clean or would get dirty feet pink and glowing again as it isn't that sort of body wash. It is designed for those with sensitive skins who have problems with the ingredients in soap such as surfactants. The ingredients in this are chosen to soothe skin and help keep it moist. Once you use this your skin will be so lovely and smooth that you can go 'Skinny dipping' is supposed to be the link to the name.

PRICE
This comes in a black pot and has 100g of product for £4.95 so not a cheap option but it seems to go quite far. I use a small amount per bath and have used it about four times and my post still seems quite full.

WHAT LUSH SAY
"This is one of those unique Lush scents that's very hard to describe. You'll find hints of coconut, violet, clove, clary sage, vetivert and all sorts of other good things, but somehow the whole fragrance is much more than the sum of its parts. Treat yourself to a chunk of Skinny Dip and discover its beguiling scent for yourself - you'll be glad you tried it."

MY EXPERIENCE
When this arrived i was so excited about trying it that I took it straight up and washed my hands so I could enjoy the feel and smell of the product.

On opening the pot the first thing to strike me was the smell which was very like 'Tramp' Shower gel, really earthy vetiver aroma mixed with coconut creaminess, a many sort of smell I would say rather than girly sweet.

I scooped a little of the creamy butter cream sort of texture out of the pot, you really do only need a little and then just dampened my hands and massaged the creaminess in. After a minute or so of massage I rinsed off my hands and they felt lovely and clean but soft and the smell was just perfect. I am a big fan of earthy aromas and this is just my sort of smell. The person I bought it from hated the smell so I believe it is an acquired taste. If you hate vetiver then avoid this one is my advice.

Skinny Dip belongs to the Butter Cream family of soaps as I said which means they are not solid bars of soap, they are sold in black pots from which you scoop out what you want to use. According to Lush "Buttercreams are 20% soap to clean your body and 80% butters, oils, infusions and other fabulous things to get your skin looking and feeling lovely" whereas Soap is "99% soap and 1% fragrance; 2% for a really posh one." taken from their website.

This is a creamy white product with small bits of coconut in it. The coconut bits are not really that obvious and would not work as a very thorough exfoliant in my view as there are not enough and they are too small to be much of a scrub.

WHAT IS IN THIS ONE?
Being a Lush product everything in the buttercream has a specific purpose or benefit. This is full of almond oil and cocoa butter to moisturise the skin.

This has lots of natural Aloe Vera Gel which is well known for its soothing qualities. It is specially good for people with dry skin as it soothes and redness and helps stop itching and also for those with oily skin it helps to moisture and re-hydrate your skin without the need to produce excess oils.

Almond Oil which is not a heavy greasy oil but helps to soften the skin and also contains Vitamin E which is good for skin and it leaves a lovely silky feel to the skin. I always use almond oil in my aromatherapy mixes for massages.

Cocoa Butter is brilliant for skin moisturising and is a lovely natural product which helps to soften and moisturise the skin.

Rapeseed oil and coconut oil are also there to add moisturising properties and rapeseed oil is a very light oil with little smell while coconut oil does have a coconut aroma.

Clary Sage Oil is a really good warming and relaxing oil and it is also good for balancing the sebum within skin and so good for those with problem spotty type skin.

Vetivert Oil which is what I can smell strongly in this product with its earthy deep aroma is good for those with dry skin. It is also supposed to be good for reducing wrinkles, stretch marks and improving the tone of your skin.

Palmarosa Oil is another oil used to help moisturise and nourish the skin while also balancing of sebum and keeping the skin supple.

This also contains ylang ylang which is there for its sweet scent and it is also an anti depressant oil in aromatherapy.

Cedarwood oil which is an ancient antiseptic and astringent oil to tones and tightens the skin. It also helps to balance and clear oily skin conditions.

Clove bud oil which always reminds me of dentists but is there as another warming oil as it helps to increase blood circulation.

So it is a small mix of wonderful smelling powerfully good ingredients.

HOW DO YOU FEEL AFTER USING THIS?
I just love the feel of this when I use it to wash myself in the bath. I use a little at a time and smear it all over then leave it on for a while as I lie and relax. The aromatherapy smells begin to do their work and I feel very pleasantly relaxed. As I rinse off the creamy mix my skin feels soft and not at all tight. The smell really lingers and even after drying myself off I can still smell it on my skin. I like to use this before bed and then hope straight into bed. The essential oils then can carry on working on my skin and help send me off to sleep too.

Another bonus using Lush products is that not only do they smell amazing while you use them but also the smell lingers in the bathroom too acting as a kind of aromatherapy air freshener. This is great for that and I can smell it for quite some time afterwards.

I am so taken with this that I think I will order some from the website before they stop making it again.

Thanks for reading. This review may be posted on other sites under my same username.
©Catsholiday