Original Source are a UK brand which specialise in products such as shower gels, scrubs, hand wash, hair shampoo, hair conditioners and bath products. They are a creative brand and often come up with unique scented products which contain unusual ingredients such as chocolate, honey, walnut, pineapple, white clay, lime, chilli, almond and ginger.

Whilst shopping in Sainsburys a month or two ago I picked up a bottle of Orange and Cinnamon Shower Gel. I wasn't too keen on the idea (I love orange and cinnamon in food, but not really in my showers!) but my partner wanted to give it a try, so in to the basket it went. Original Source is sold in most of the main supermarkets and I've noticed that their shower gels are often on offer (usually for £1.00, instead of the usual price of around £1.80).

Original Source do 'Seasonal Editions' shower gels, which means certain shower gels are only available at certain times of the year and the scents generally reflect the different seasons. The Orange and Cinnamon is an Autumn/Winter shower gel so will only be on the shelves during this time. I think that the Orange and Cinnamon scent is an appropriate choice for this particular season.

The shower gel comes in a transparent plastic (recyclable) bottle, just the right size for me to fit my hand around and is fine for use in the shower. The lid is at the bottom which is handy as it means you don't have to mess around shaking the bottle to try and get the gel out (especially as you get towards the end). The gel itself is a bright orange colour and has quite a thick gloopy consistency.

The smell of the shower gel is apparent as soon as you squirt some out. It's very strong smelling and not quite as I expected. There are citrus undertones but the orange is far too overpowered by the cinnamon scent. Infact I think the cinnamon scent actually smells more similar to ginger. It's not HORRIBLE but it's certainly not my favourite Original Source scent, there are much nicer ones out there. However my partner loves the smell, so maybe it would be more appealing to men (it does smell quite manly actually).

I use a shower puff whilst in the shower and find that just a small squirt of shower gel is generally enough to get the job done (a little goes a long way). The scent is very strong whilst in the shower and I find that it stays on my skin for up to a few hours after I've showered (this would usually be a good thing, but as I'm not too keen on the scent I don't really care too much!). The shower gel lathers up very well and combined with the strong smell (even if it's not my favourite) I find that it makes me feel very clean, refreshed and invigorated during/after my shower. For this reason I think it the shower gel is most suitable for a 'wake me up' morning shower, rather than a 'winding down' night time shower.

Something which I really like about Original Source is they have good ethics. None of their products are tested on animals and all of their products are suitable for vegans. They also use natural ingredients to create their fragrances. The Orange and Cinnamon Shower Gel contains real orange and cinnamon extracts. However this isn't to say that the rest of the ingredients are as natural - there is a lengthy list of ingredients which I can barely pronounce, never mind know what they are! So 'packed with natural stuff' (as quoted on the bottle) isn't ENTIRELY true...

Overall the Original Source Orange and Cinnamon shower gel is cleansing, refreshing, lathers well, contains natural ingredients and isn't tested on animals. However it's not a scent that I'm likely to want to try again.