My new favourite everyday shower gel! (Patently Obvious Kumquat and Mandarin Shower Gel)

Member Name: azana

Product:	Patently Obvious Kumquat and Mandarin Shower Gel
Date:	27/07/09 (77 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: SLS and paraben free, smells lovely

Disadvantages: bit pricier

I'm a bit of a sucker for packaging, and where possible, finances allowing, I would rather buy products that are good for me and the environment too. When I saw this test tube like shower gel on the shelves at Sainsbury's it appealed for both reasons - I like the look of the bottle and it is SLS and paraben free.

Neither of my reasons for purchase would make me buy this gel again if it didn't do the job for which it is intended well. I chose the Kumquat and Mandarin shower gel as opposed to the other 3 varieties available as, as a child of the 70's when Body Shop was radical, I have a bit of a penchant for fruity shower gels. I would also try the lavender and rosemary, or raspberry and pomegranate too, the mint version does not appeal.

In use the gel is easily dispensed from a clever little device on the top of the bottle - you push one half of the top of the "test tube" and the other half pops up to reveal the hole through which you squeeze the product. Without waxing lyrical I quite liked this design feature.

The gel is a bit more runny than you would expect from other gels, but not stupidly so. It smells nice and fresh without being overpowering, being SLS free it doesn't lather as much as other shower products but enough to make you feel you are getting nicely cleansed. It is easily spread over your body, and leaves my skin feeling nice and smooth. When my skin is dry I can slightly smell this gel, but not too much so.

Price wise this product is a bit more than my more usual brand, original source (unoriginally). A bottle costs me £2.92, which the Sainsbury's website informs me helpfully works out at £1.17 per 100ml as opposed to 0.77 per 100ml for my normal gel. I actually think that as I tend to use a little less of this to wash with this is not bad value, a little bit nicer than my normal purchase without being ruinously expensive.

I like the fact that the packaging is 100% made from recycled plastic and that it is made from "naturally derived" ingredients. You can read more about what this means on the company's website at http://www.patentlyobvious.co.uk/, where the other products are also available for purchase.

All the range is non-tested on animals and the gel is biodegradable too which means no nasties into the waterworks.

Overall I like the ethos and concept behind this brand which is an offshoot of KMI, the King of Shaves company. I have switched to it for daily use as I did feel that it lived up to the claims on the bottle and I think it is a good product. It is made in the UK too, which is a plus too.

My only slight critism is that the logo looks a bit silly, PO is a bit of an unfortunate choice of lettering for the front of the bottle, which otherwise I quite like the look of. The rest of the range of hand washes and hand foams also have an ironic school science lab look too.

Patently Obvious state on their website that they chose the product name as "it simply is patently obvious we all need to consider the impact we are having upon the environment and our planet. We need to consider what we are putting on our skin and what we are washing down the drain, but without (obviously) compromising on the cleansing performance or the look of the product."

For me they do live up to their stated mission, and if you think that is an idea you might buy into too I would say this gel is worth giving a go. Recommended.

Summary: lured by the packaging, won over by the product