Soft soft soft, but also kinda clingy. (Lush Sweet Japanese Girl Cleansing Bar)

Member Name: I-tried-this

Product:	Lush Sweet Japanese Girl Cleansing Bar
Date:	06/01/09 (177 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It does clean very well- especially makeup with no stinging or scratching and smells v.good

Disadvantages: Is very hard to remove without an additional cleanser or soap!

I bought this as part of my "feel better for not going out New Years Eve 2008" gift to myself. My way of taking my mind off the fact I live in London and was not going out. (Too cold, too many screaming small children who should not be out and didn't want to walk 4 miles home again after the buses were too packed or full of vomit) I digress...

The Sweet Japanese Girl is a facial wash/exfoliation bar which is fairly self explanatory- you use it to wash and scrub your face to make it clean. In Lush stores right now (Jan 2009) it is priced at £4.84 a bar.

What appealed to me about Japanese Girl were initially the smell- I love smelling all Lush products- though they are all very similar, its like tea, once you get to know the store and stock, you do notice huge differences, and for me, Sweet Japanese Girl stuck out. The smell is very mild, sweet but not at all sickly, and quite simple. Its the sort of thing that if it were not for the scrubbing bits in it, you could offer to a small child. I like the smell, its sort of comforting. According to Lush it has Cocoa and Shea butter, ground Almonds and Aduki Beans, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, (didn't know this existed!), Lemon, Juniper and Tea Tree Oils and a few natural perfumes: Limonene and Citral.

I also liked the brief description about Japanese girl on the stand, I cannot remember it word for word but it stated it was for dry skin, made skin softer, something about being gentle and mild. Ticked all the boxes for me. I was feeling a little bit sorry for myself!

I didn't actually read up on how to use it- it seemed pretty obvious to me- wet my face, scrub the Japanese Girl over my face, rinse my face, dry my face, right? Well, yes, that's one way of doing it- but on reading up I can see it can be used on warm cotton wool to remove make-up. And mixes well with Tea Tree Oil (also not tried this).

On first use, I simply washed my face with warm water and scrubbed. I found the Japanese Girl was an excellent shape- really went over the contours of my face (I sound like a man don't I! Lol!) but seriously, my chin, my nose, it really was way better then having a flat shape or even a circular shape- this really is a good shape to make the scrub-well done Lush- though I know in time it will melt down to become flat eventually. :(

The scrub was a good scrub- not too harsh, it did not hurt to use it, it was though, harsh enough to feel like it was doing something, and it was easy to put on more as the bar does melt onto your face with no real effort at all. The lather is also great- very soft and thick. Not at all like many liquid cleansers I had tried.
It also was excellent on my make-up- my eye make-up especially as even when rubbed over my DiorShow Blackout mascara (am mentioning that as its a b****r to get off!) it was not painful in the slightest, it removed the eye make-up and did not sting, hurt, I am still quite surprised at this- the bar has grainy bits in yet it does not hurt my eyes! Wow! (n/b, I did keep my eyes shut throughout!- though not so tightly squeezed as with other cleaners)

Removal though was not so easy. I rinsed a few times whilst rubbing my face, normally enough to get my normal cleanser off. But in the case of Japanese Girl, it was not enough...she was still there! I had rinsed off the grains- or most of them, but there was a definite thick film over my face. I was sure it was not supposed to be there (correct me if I am wrong someone) so rinsed again, before deciding that in my hard water area, if I continued to rinse and rinse, I would be left with tight dry skin, so I used a little of my normal daily cleanser and it came off very easily. (In case anyone needs to know, my normal cleanser is by Clinique, bought a year ago- see review if your stuck for a good cleanser, lasted me until now, very good value!) But I am sure to take this off, soap would work the same, (just may leave your face very much much drier if my soap experience is anything to go by and defy the whole point of Japanese Girl.) I did have to use moisturiser afterwards though- mainly as I used a cleanser which is aimed at cleaning properly, but my skin did still feel a tad softer then it normally would. It also felt very fresh and clean after the scrub.

So, value for money? Well the jury is still out on that but so far so good- but cannot really rate that part yet until I know how long it will last for: I judge value for money on how long a product lasts, then ££ per use, per month and then find out if anyone does anything a similar price or style at match it against it.

At the moment, I would compare this with the Body Shop which I think would be similar on a price level, perhaps easier to use but may not last as long.
Or a product by Boots which may be cheaper per use, last the same amount of time, but not with the same feel or scent to it. I have tried many exfoliants though (Apri scrub, L'Oreal, Garnier, Facial exfoliation wipes, Micro Dermabrasion by Sanctuary, Boots No.7...) and all were just too harsh for me, they also didn't do to much removal of things (i.e eye makeup) as they were too harsh for my eyes or too grainy to do more then scratch delicate areas like around the corners of my nose, whilst not really removing any spots- you think no pain no gain right? Well not with the exfoliants I had tried. So Lush beat these as it removes my make-up, its not too harsh and although I have not had the chance to use it on any spots, the exfoliants I had tried didn't do anything for them anyway.

If I were comparing it to my all time favourite by Dermalogica, (my idea of perfect) which costs around £30 a tub but lasts for a months. (I should add here I have only ever tried samples: the stuff being at the price it is and my wallet being as thin as it is!) Lush is not as good as Dermalogica. It is not as good because its not easy to remove but also its not as easy to transport- unless you buy a tin and then I would worry about strange things growing in the tin as that's not the most hygienic way to carry it around. But price wise I would have thought Lush is better. Like I say, Jury's out!

Summary: A sweet mild exfoliant for soft skin