If there's one thing I don't like about soap, it's when it smells like soap. As strange a statement as that is, there is a reason why I have turned to a company like Lush to alter my perception of a product that has been manufactured for the last 5000 years.
Before I became involved with the company, I thought soap meant slabs of colourless stuff that smelt disgusting and left your skin feeling parched and dry. Lush changed all of this and I couldn't be more grateful to discover the magical world of Sandstone, Oh La La and Snowcake. So to me, You Wash My Back is a step backwards.
Shapes like a yin yang, this soap is circular in design with two halves coloured pink and green. To look at, it's quite an attractive soap. Unfortunately, I discovered a design flaw almost immediately with this product - I only had to press it gently against my skin for it to break in half - an issue that a lot of other Lush fans have commented on as well.
I recognise the fact that this soap was designed to be shared with a partner - half for them to wash your back, half for you to wash theirs. The problem I found with this is that the pieces you are left with are then very fiddly to use and it was trickier to clean myself with than with other, more sturdier blocks.
Sharing it's scent with the White Wedding Ballistic, this soap boasts as array of different floral elements - rose, bergamot, ylang ylang and jasmine. I was expecting a very uplifting, musky and rather sophisticated multi-layered aroma. What I discovered however, is a combination that mimics those cheap 30p bars of soap you get from a supermarket. How Lush have managed to combine such beautiful fragrances and end up with what I detected, is rather disappointing. It wouldn't be so bad if the fragrance was quite a subtle scent, as I can see this being a lovely hand soap for those who like more mature smells. Unfortunately, this is a very poignant smell and one that follows you around the room. It's not something I was to be bathing in.
In it's defence, the soap does lather up rather well in the shower and the foam it dispels is really moisturising on the skin - something which cheaper soaps cannot boast. Furthermore, if you love the scent, you'll be pleased to learn that it lingers on your skin for a long time after you've left the shower.
However, this is not a soap I would really want 'hanging around' and I don't even think I'd want to use it as a hand wash. For this reason, it's one I'd ever consider buying again.
Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Rapeseed Oil; Sunflower Oil; Coconut Oil (Brassica napus; Helianthus annuus; Cocus nucifera), Sodium Coco-Sulfate, Soya Milk (Glycine soja), Sodium Hydroxide, Perfume, Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Jasmine Absolute (Jaminum officinale), Rose Oil (Rosa damascene), Bergamot Oil (Citrus bergamia), Glycerine, Sodium Chloride, Benzly Salicylate, Eugenol, Geraniol, Benzyl Benzoate, Citronellol, Farnesol, Limonene, Linalool, Hydroxcitronellal, Titanium Dioxide, Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Colour 45410, Colour 42090.
Vegan?: Yes.
2016 Price: ?
Year Of Original Release: ?
White Wedding Ballistic
You Wash My Back Soap
