Aroma-what?! (Lush Aromarant)

Member Name: sweetpea01

Product:	Lush Aromarant
Date:	21/06/09 (46 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: May keep you fresh for all of 2 hours!

Disadvantages: Expensive and doesn't really work that well

I have always been quite curious about the solid deodorant bars in Lush. The fact that I haven't come across another company which makes similar items in such a form is truly quite bizarre if not a little bit mad. We are all use to the usual aerosols and roll ons and then recently been the deodorants which look like the Vanish sticks! But an actual bar?! I have often walked passed them in Lush and wondered what it would be like to use. Would it be easy? Would it actually use? Well a few months ago I got one free with a mail order and thought why knock it until I've tried it and afterall it was free!

Aromarant is a sturdy toffee-coloured block of deodorant much unlike Lush's fragile pressed-powder Kryzstal deodorants; a propylene glycol base generally gives it a slightly "wetter" consistency that's easier to spread over the skin without chafing and irritation. Not to

mention, the burn and "brown pits" phenomenon that comes with the Kryzstal deodorants is pretty much a non-issue with Aromarant. To look at it almost looks like a big block of crystallised sugar and is not pretty to look at let alone to use!

However, while all is well on the application front when this deodorant is at its oily-surfaced best, depending on the batch you can sometimes get stuck with what appears to be a moisture-free brick that is very difficult (if not next to impossible) to apply. My only advice in such cases is to lightly wet the surface of your Aromarant truckle or to apply it to slightly damp underarms, though the negative side effect of this can be a slightly goopy and/or sticky finish. Now do you really want all this fuss? Surely a deodorant should be relatively easy to use and quickly to use! And anyway how can you end up getting a good bar each time you run out?!

And for even worse news folks, no matter the condition of your slice of Aromarant, it owns an aromatic base of fresh lemon which is then beaten into submission by herbal infusions of astringent witch-hazel, antiseptic oak bark, and anti-toxin cleavers. These herbs all work quite well when it comes to soothing the skin, but when it comes to a combined fragrance, they are an odour unto themselves, often reminding you of raw nuts stored in dirty socks with a light squeeze of preservative lemon juice on top - and no I am not exaggerating this pungent smell takes quite a bit of getting used to, if you do at all.

And so, the result is to replace one noxious odour with another. Now rub salt into the wounds of stinkification; Aromarant only has enough anti-bacterial strength to control underarm odour for a short while, and given its dense, bogged down, herbal-dominated fragrance, once your own natural odours resurface, reapplication does little to mask anything and the fact that you can't just really carry this around in your bag and re-apply when necessary makes it quite a problematic item. As much as I am one for saving our planet and try not to use aerosols sometimes they do have their uses!

Instead of replacing one odour with another, it now simply adds another dimension to what's already there, sans any much-needed note of added freshness. All told, as it turns out, Aromarant isn't called "Aroma Rant" for nothing and should be well avoided.

What Lush say:-

"The refreshing lemon one for feet and armpits.
This is the lemon one. Lemon is a good smell for armpits, don't you think? It's the opposite of what you'd expect to find there so it gives you a pleasant surprise when you encounter its presence. Aromaco works by absorbing odours with sodium bicarbonate, baking soda, and by tightening up the pores a bit with an infusion of witch hazel and lemons. Sandalwood essential oil keeps your armpit skin soft and gives you a lovely scent to waft around when you wave your arms about. (Which you might consider doing when hailing a taxi, or something similar"

A block of around 100g will cost you £3.87 which to be honest you might as well throw that money down the drain as this deodorant is pretty useless and doesn't really work. I still don't get the real use for these bars, yes I understand they are better for the environment and I try to do as much as possible, recycle etc but I would like a deodorant to actually work!

Summary: Better of sticking to something else