One touch and it makes my skin tingle!!! (Bliss Super Minty Soap'n Scrub Energizing Exfoliating for The Body)

Member Name: Sarccyslayer

Product:	Bliss Super Minty Soap'n Scrub Energizing Exfoliating for The Body
Date:	31/07/09 (124 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smells lovely, works well on the skin, easy to use, long lasting

Disadvantages: It is £23 for 236ml

I am still testing beauty products for one or two websites as previously mentioned in other reviews and as much as I am enjoying it, I have a whole host of products to review and not a single one of them is from Lush - how did this happen?

One of those products that I have just finished testing, although there is still over half the tub left is 'Bliss bliss super minty soap'n scrub' which is described as being "a one-step cleansing gel and body buff that smoothes and softens your skin.". It comes in a rather striking ice blue coloured tube with the product name written in both purple and white letters and it contains 236ml. This tube also hosts a flip top lid which makes it much easier to use, store and stand on any bathroom shelf or dressing table given that it has a sturdy bottom to stand on. The last Bliss product I used (Bliss get of Hair) also came to me for testing and reviewing and to buy it from Boots or somewhere like Selfridges would cost in the region of £27 so it was no surprise to me when I looked into the retail value of this product to find that it would cost around £23 which does make it ultra-expensive especially if it didn't work as well as the marketing blurb stated that it will.

The Bliss range was born in 1996 in a spa in New York and now over ten years and 9 Spa's later the range has grown from one or two products which became highly sought after to an entire range consisting of skin care products, bath and body products, hair removal and body waxing, fitness footwear, makeup and hair care to name but a few of them. Here in the United Kingdom you can find Bliss products in places like Harrods, Harvey Nicks, Selfridges, Sephora and Boots. As mentioned before they have some quirky named products which I have come across since using the Bliss range and names such as Fat Girl Slim or Love Handler are bound to catch the attention of the eyes when they wonder across the shelves looking at products to try.

When it comes to using this super minty soap'n scrub you can use it either in the bath or in the shower, which ever is your preference and it does promise to leave your skin tingling and feeling ferociously fresh and it is a really simple process to use. When in the shower (or bath) you need to simply flip the lid and gently squeeze the tube, now the one issue I have with these tubes is that if you squeeze too hard you end up with too much of the product and it is a right pain in the whatsit to try and put it back into the tube, so in effect it becomes useless and it is wasted. So one small squeeze of the tube should give you a walnut size dollop on the palm of your hand and whenever I get a scrub like this I always smooth it onto my palm to see what the texture is like. At a first glance it does appear to be a smooth silky texture but if you press hard enough you can feel the jojoba beads very slightly, which means you will not scratch your skin as you use the paste. When I used this product for the first time I was quite surprised as to how minty it was, I'm not a big fan of minty products, the Mint Original Source shower gel scared me for life and it is very rare that I will now use a product which has the word 'minty' in the title, but actually as strong as this mint it, it isn't overpowering it is actually quite refreshing and when used first thing in the morning it definitely wakes you up.

As smooth as the paste (the Bliss reference to the product) is you can definitely feel it working to exfoliate your skin, when I use this product I massage it onto my skin in a circular motion which I find is the best way of using it. The first thing you notice is the minty aroma of this paste which as I have already mentioned is really refreshing and it does make your skin tingle because it does bring about that cool feeling as you massage it into your skin and lingers on the skin after showing and bathing.

The ingredients for this product start with Jojoba beads which act as the exfoliant or the little loofhas as Bliss describe them to be, they are gentle on the skin when it comes to exfoliating and do not scratch or irritate the skin. Jojoba Oil is good for hydrating the skin to leave it feeling soft and smooth, as an oil it quickly sinks into the skin to form a barrier to keep moisture in therefore making the skin much softer and smoother to the touch. Finally there is Peppermint oil which is not only cooling and refreshing oil and on the skin but peppermint oil is used to relieve skin irritation and itchiness whilst helping to reduce skin redness, where inflammation is or has been present and it is often used on things such as sunburn and acne to relive the itching and soreness. Peppermint Oil is also good for mental fatigue and depression because it is so refreshing and it helps to refresh and awake.

With products such as this, I have learnt from experience that you pay particular attention to the legs, bum and tum which does sound like an gym class but that is because it is these areas which are often ignored, particularly the bum and tum when it comes to the exfoliating process and because the exfoliating beads are so soft and gentle it is less likely to scratch the skin and cause irritations and redness. So how did it fare on the skin? Well using the paste was really easy as you might expect and because the jojoba beads were so small you can decide how much pressure to apply to your skin as to whether or not you need to add pressure to really exfoliate. I always find that it is my legs, arms and elbows which I did need to exert more pressure too because they are my problematic areas where as my bum and tum much lighter pressure because the skin there is much more delicate. When it comes to washing the paste from your body, again it takes little or no effort and as you massage any excess off using running water you will be left with nothing clinging to the skin.

After using this product and patting my skin dry I was delighted with the effects, my skin was soft and smooth to the touch as well as smelling minty fresh. I do prefer to use this product in a morning because it does wake me up and make me more alert; the one thing I am not is a morning person. I have also used this in the shower after going to the gym, it was one of the tasks I was asked to complete whilst undertaking the test and I have to admit that after an hours spinning class this really does cool your skin down and refreshes your body when you feel all hot and sweaty and it is much better than anything else I have used to date for that purpose.

Overall I would recommend this product to anyone wanting to try something a little new but what you have to bare in mind is the cost and that at £23 for a 236ml tube which is the size of a tube of hair gel to compare it in size, so it is a lot of money for the size of the product but and this is a big but, you don't have to use it everyday, I use mine twice a week at the most because I don't feel the need to exfoliate my skin on a daily basis and having done this now for the last 7 weeks as it is now I haven't even used half of the tube, it is well over half full and still smells as minty as it did when I first opened the tube. There are no signs of it drying out and my skin is soft and smooth and the minty smell is not too powerful. So in that sense for me the benefits outweigh the only downside to this product and that is the price. I would personally be very happy to buy this again and it would definitely sit on a list of things I would be happy for people to buy for me as a gift. It is definitely a product to look out for when Bliss have a sale which usually means many products are half price or more than half price.

Summary: A Super Minty Soap'n Scrub which leaves skin tingling and ferociously fresh.