Now where's my horse? (Lush Godiva Shampoo and Conditioning Bar)

Member Name: heynonnynonny

Product:	Lush Godiva Shampoo and Conditioning Bar
Date:	28/10/09 (36 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very sensual scent, probably the nicest smelling thing for your hair!!

Disadvantages: Not enough conditioning properties for me, slight sloppiness when nearly at end of product

This is my opinion on the Lush product Godiva.

Firstly, what is Godiva? It is a yellow small solid disc packed full of Lush's famous 'shampoo squiggles' and lumps of conditioning cocoa and shea butter. You can see very tiny remanants of jasmine flowers pressed within the chunky yellow disc. It is one of about a dozen solid shampoo bars Lush do, they have made them small and ciurcular I presume for ease of use and also for holidaying and travelling with.

In this case Lush do a small tin which fits these perfectly and if you buy 2 bars you get a free tin, so me and the OH split a tin in half betwen us, he had the one that smelt of tar and cade oil which is for flaky scalps, whereas I had Godiva due to the smell (don't think the OH liked his that much). you will find all the different varieties of bars stacked up in little piles and they look really good in the shops.

Godiva is one of a couple of so called 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioning bar due to containing the shampoo squiggles and also conditioning butters which give much like a softening effect like a liquid conditioner due to the butters being soft and coating your hair.

I've never personally got on with liquid 2 in 1 shampoos and not happy to use them, due to very processed hair I have never felt like they offer decent enough conditioinng properties and therefore have always used seperate shampoo and conditioners because of this.

It is quite a deep floral scent which is quite heavy. I do like this but upon seeing other reivews the opinions seem somewhat split. But I think the smell is intoxicating and very very good indeed. Godiva has the same powerfully sensual, jasmine scent as Flying Fox and Youki-Hi so good for fans of this fragrance! Your body and your hair will all smell amazing and lovely!!

This is by far the best smelling thing I've ever found for hair. The smell does linger on your hair for a number of hours and is very fragrant whilst it is in use.

Usage is extremely easy. Rub around your scalp until you have an adequate supply of lather. The product gives a very satisfactory amount of lathery bubbley stuff so you really do feel like you are getting your hair clean. In fact it leaves your hair squeaky clean after just one shampoo. I personally like a lot of lather for my hair to feel truly clean and this really does the trick. I recommend just doing your scalp and roots with it and rinsing down and this will be enough to clean the ends and lengths of the hair. I just do it this way as I feel it is enough and do not want o overdry my hair by using too much shampoo and rubbing it into the hair, it doesn't need it.

The actual bar itself lasts quite a long time and I bet it will outlive your liquid products anyday, this is due to the concentrated shampoo squiggles. It is not as long lasting as some of the plain old shampoo bars which tend to be a lot firmer due to the fact they will not contain any conditioning products like cocoa butter as Godiva does.

The conditioning properties however I just cannot trust due to my overall fear of 2 in 1 liquid shampoo and conditioners, I really don't think it provides much conditioing for anything past 'normal' hair i.e. anything slightly dry or more and I always find myself using a seperate conditioner after using my Godiva bar. I just cannot feel or see the conditoning effects and the though of not conditioning my hair quite frightens me so therefore it is a neccesity for me.

The after effects of the product on the hair, well it does leave squeaky clean and fragrant but I cannot see any extra shine or conditioning to my dry blonde highlighted hair.

The bar itself can get rather mushy and this has put me off using the thin circular bit left behind after using it for so long, as it feels cold and damp and generally rather 'icky' and not at all pleasant to put on your bonce!! So do keep it in the driest place possible to stop sloppiness.

Combing the hair after the use of the product is ok, not the best I have ever experienced, but then again not particularly tangled, you can smell your hair as you are combing it though though which is a lovely and whiffy bonus!! Again I like to use a spot of leave in conditioner whilst combing to boost the hair's strengh and of course do not use a brush on wet hair it is very damaging!!

I would more recommend this if you have no problem with dry hair, as the conditioning of the product leans on the very light! Or buy it but be prepared to use an extra conditioning product.

The item can be purchased for currently £4.50 at your local Lushie shop or the mail order service I found to be brilliant, always a quick delivery and items come very well packaged so they do not get damaged (due to the fragile nature of some of the Lush items!). Items packaged in strong boxes and placed inside strips of paper and shredded cardboard so lovely for the environment :D

As you can see the ingredients list is rather long. Naturally there are some synthetics to be found but a fair chunk is natural butters and oils which is a nice thing to see.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Fair Trade Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Cetearyl Alcohol and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Glycerl Stearate & Peg - 100 Stearate, Propylene Glycol, Perfume, Hibiscus Extract (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), Stearic Acid, Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii), Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetrimide, Camella Oil (Camella japonita), Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis), Macadamia Nut Oil (Macadamia ternifolia), Coconut Butter (Cocos nucifera), Jasmine Absolute (Jasminum officinale), Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Cypress Oil (Cupressus sempervirens), Palmarossa Oil (Cymbopogan martini), Jasmine Flowers (Jasminum officinale), Lanolin, Cocamide DEA, Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Benzyl Alcohol, Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool.

*Naturally occurs in essential oils

So my summary today is= buy if you like gorgeously deep floral yet modern smelling hair, if you need light conditioning and deep cleaning, it is the one to go for in the range. I would say best for slightly oily hair or hair that needs washing every day.

Remember riding naked on a horse is the most environmentally friendly way to dry your hair!!

Summary: Give it 7 out of 10.