One part of Mr Rarr moving in is that we have found ourselves still, two months later, in the ongoing chaos that is our two sets of worldly belongings merging in one, really rather small, house.

This has its negative points - wondering when you're going to get that computer desk that's been living next to the dining table since Christmas on eBay, tripping over the multitude of wires from our respective geek toys, so on and so forth. But on the plus side, we are also merging our respective life experiences about various products we have tried and enjoyed.

Now, normally I try to keep to the cheaper ranges of shower gels, but having recently invested a whole English pound in a thoroughly disappointing, cloyingly sweet Palmolive rose-based gel, I was on the prowl for something new. I had always considered Original Source products to be expensive in comparison to many of their peers so had never tried one until Mr Rarr, doubtless keen to stop me musing and get home to get the dinner on, suggested I try their Shea Butter and Honey Fair Trade Gel, knowing my weakness for all things Shea Butter. He himself already used Original Source and chose it almost every time he restocked, so obviously he had faith in the brand, although I had never seen him use this scent combination.

I forget the precise price but it was slightly reduced in Wilkinsons at the time, so I decided to give it a try, convinced that by spending a bit more I might be sparing myself the scent-induced diabetic condition that the Palmolive gel had nearly delivered.

So, is it any good?

***ORIGINAL SOURCE***

First, a word from our sponsor, so to speak. Original Source offer a wide range of cosmetic bathroom products and have firmly been steered by their marketing team down the "fun and friendly" packaging route made so popular by the likes of Innocent etal. Their shower gels, which are their only products that I have used to this point, come in semi-opaque tall, tapered tubes which sit on their lids and snap open, with labels with irregularly sized text describing their product in colours that reflect the scent of the gel inside the packaging.

A member of the Aromatherapy Trade Council and associated closely with the Vegan Society, Original Source claim that their products are based on pure and natural essential oils or natural extracts, and that they try to reduce their carbon footprint by not relying on imported products where possible and using as many as they can which are sourced from the UK. So all in, they sound pretty nice people. They never do mean things to bunnies, and everyone likes a bunny (I can offer a particularly nice rabbit stew recipe if you really, really do).

You can find more about the company at www.originalsource.co.uk and, like everyone and their gran, they have a facebook and twitter presence.

***FAIR TRADE, HUH??***

By coincidence, at the time of writing, Superdrug have this on offer from a standard price of £2.29 to £1.13. Personally, particularly if you have a points card, I'd get amongst that, because this is a really lovely product.

The packaging makes a few claims about the product it houses; that it "takes 49 bee miles" to produce the honey that goes into making one bottle of this gel. Both Shea Butter and Honey are meant to have softening capabilities when used on skin.

The product's own little section of the Original Source website tells us that the Fair Trade Honey comes from API Co-Op in Chile. So whilst this product doesn't particularly stay in keeping with the company's attempts to source ingredients here, you do have the benefit of Fair Trade (and from what we keep hearing, the bees over here need all the honey they can get...).

Meanwhile, the Fair Trade Shea Butter comes from a producer group in Burkina Faso. So you have two producers who, whilst not UK-based, are being supported by a fair price from the producer of the gel.

***BUT WHAT'S IT LIKE?***

Honestly? I love this! It really is gorgeous.

Flipping back the lid you are greeted with a rich, soothing, almost slightly peppery scent of the honey with the gentle, rich base scent of the Shea Butter balancing it out really nicely. This isn't a punchy scent but it is distinctive and luxurious. Whilst it might not be ideal for summer when you get home still boiling alive and feeling hideous, I think it is lovely for winter and spring and particularly gorgeous to use in Autumn, when even its colour is perfectly suited - a buttery, light caramel shade.

The texture of this gel is much like others from the range that I have tried since making this purchase. It is not overly thick, and whilst if you hold this upside down you are not at risk of losing all of it, it will gradually drip out - but this suits the packaging as the rectangular, pyramid-shaped bottle is made from quite firm plastic so isn't the squeeziest, and just a gentle push on the sides will dispense a good amount on a shower puff.

I always use a puff to apply this and find that it bubbles up instantly but never, ever feels drying - sometimes gels can feel drying almost as soon as you put them on and with stress-induced dry skin patches forming on my upper arms lately, this has been a god send. Whilst it doesn't make up for moisturising properly, it can leave your skin feeling soft and smooth after showering and whilst the indulgent, luxurious rich scent doesn't last long beyond the shower, it is a great addition while you're under the water - relaxing, comforting and also almost warming, a good gentle start to the day in winter.

I have had no irritation from this product and have found that, as you do not need much of it to achieve a softening, soothing and rich lather, it lasts very well. So at over £2 per bottle it is not the cheapest gel product in the world but it is by far one of my favourites, and if you can grab it on sale at less than that price (I stocked up in Boots when they had a half price promotion on just after Christmas and tried some other scents). So, all in all I wholeheartedly recommend this. My only doubt would be that the rich, almost savoury combination of the scents might not be to the liking of people who prefer to start their day with a sensory boot up the backside from citrus fruits or berries, but for those of you who like the base notes of this product then as a gel it performs really well and is both a great start to the day and a soothing, relaxing way of ending it. Absolutely lovely and you can feel all smug about the Fair Trade aspect too. What's not to like?