There's more germs on your hands than there are Elvis impersonators in the world (Anatomicals Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On)

Member Name: missixty

Product:	Anatomicals Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On
Date:	21/04/08 (147 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smells gorgeous, doesn't dry hands, beneficial to skin, kills bacteria, low price, funky packaging

Disadvantages: Not widely available at the moment

Amongst me huge box of free goodies I recently received from the generous folks at anatomical were two liquid soaps, one of which was this; A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On?

Out of everything I got this was perhaps not the most exciting. My boyfriend is always commenting how I waste money on "soap" to which I always reply "no I don't! I buy shower gel/shampoo/bubble bath etc" to which he replies "yeah...soap!" So okay, I do have a particular obsession with cleaning and smelling nice, but I think he would complain more if I didn't. That said my point was actual soap, ie. The stuff you wash your hands with, isn't something I ever buy, I use whatever is there, as it just doesn't seem like much of an exciting product.

A while back, whilst my daughter and I were suffering from conjunctivitis (eurgh) I found myself washing my hands roughly five hundred times a day, which left my hands in absolutely terrible condition. I came to the conclusion, that I didn't like liquid soap. After this particular episode, I always opted to wash my hands with the bar of soap on our sink, and avoid using the various liquid varieties my mum buys in at all costs. Needless to say, when I saw bottles of liquid soap within my bundle of goodies, it wasn't something I was instantly overjoyed about.

That was, until I smelt it. Oh wow this stuff smells gorgeous! Officially it is "almond" scented, which definitely rings true, although myself and the boyfriend definitely decided it smelt most like Disaronno out of all the almondy scented things we could think of (marzipan, Dr Pepper etc), it smelt yes almondy and sweet but with a certain kick to it. It smelt delicious. Whilst washing my hands the aroma filled the hold bathroom and smelt truly delicious. The strangest thing then happened though. When I got back into the bedroom my boyfriend commented "You've just tried out that thing that smells of Haribo haven't you?" (referring to my Shower to the People shower gel) to which I replied no but on a second smell of my hands, the initial almond scent had magically transformed to leave my skin smelling of sweeties. Lovely!

The smell lingered on my skin for a long while after and it was really nice.

The soap lathered up really well on my hands when washing them and was easy to dispense from the pump style bottle. Even better than this is that after using it, not only did my hands smell gorgeous, and be germ free, it didn't strip them of moisture and leave them in the state that most liquid soaps would.

The bottle itself, whilst still very bright and bold, and covered in usual with the funky funny anatomicals text, is actually perhaps the least colourful of the range in a sort of brown colour, which I suppose fits in with the almond scent, and whilst it isn't the most attractive bottle of the range, it's quirky features keep it cool enough to have on display in your bathroom.

With the funky packaging saying; "friends do it. Colleagues do it. Even bank managers do it prior to refusing you a loan. Yes, it's the most well known greeting in the world and it's the kiss. No, it's not (who's your bank manager?)" and informing us of the interesting fact that there are more germs on your hands than there are Elvis impersonators in the world, it's sure to give a little light entertainment and perhaps even raise a smile amongst anyone lucky enough to wash their hands at your house. That's if they can tear themselves away from enjoying the delicious aroma to even look at the bottle.

The soap contains Aloe Vera which keeps skin healthy and moisturised and actually helps heal the skin, which is probably why this liquid soap didn't have a drying effect on my skin. Whilst my hands didn't particularly feel any more moisturised than normal, the inclusion of the Aloe Vera perhaps balanced out the natural drying tendencies of liquid soap and prevented it from drying my skin. Aloe Vera is actually very beneficial to dry or cracked skin so this soap could actually help prevent "dishpan hands". It's also great for many skin conditions, meaning you shouldn't shy away from this even if you suffer from things such as eczema and on top of all these good points it is also anti ageing, which is great considering its normally hands that give your age away. The benefits of Aloe Vera are almost too many too list, and it really is a great ingredient to have included in this soap.

The soap also includes Triclosan which has great antibacterial properties so is perfect for fighting off all those germs on your hand. Speaking of which, when I was at college a few years ago, during one of my Bio-Chemisty lessons we had to take swabs from our hands and from under our nails, and the amount of bacteria on them was unbelievable in comparison to the bacteria found elsewhere in the college, so it really is important to use a soap that can combat bacteria effectively. The soap also contains Methylchoroisothiazolinone (try saying that fast!) which fights yeast, bacteria and fungi, which again is great for its thorough cleansing of the skin.

All in all this soap is everything you could want from a soap; it cleanses the skin thoroughly, fights off all germs and bacteria, whilst also keeping the skin moisturised and is suitable for even people with skin complaints. On top of all this it smells absolutely delicious!

At £2.00 for a 250ml bottle, it's competitive with other liquid soaps and in my opinion of a much better quality in every single way. Currently it's not widely available, it is available on asos.com, yet it doesn't actually seem to be available directly from the anatomical site at the moment. Their products should be launched in shops such as Sainsburys and Boots in the near future, and when it is widely available I would definitely buy this soap over all others available in the stores.

Summary: The best handwash I've ever used!