Despite it's notoriety, Whitewash Shower Smoothie has almost managed to eradicate itself from the online community. When I'm trying a product for the first time, especially one that has either been discontinued, or is just really old, I like to explore what other people have to say about it. This gives me not only an idea of what to expect, but also the sorts of expectations that other people have for it. However, when I tried to find out more about this product, I found very little, which is surprising as Lush claim it's among their most requested item.
I was lucky enough to win a tub of this on eBay a few years back, having no prior knowledge of the smoothie, or even being aware of it's existence until it popped up on my dashboard and demanded to be bought. I have to say, the allure was party due to it's rather swanky white outer shell, a characteristic that always seems to make a product just that little bit more exciting.
When the 250g tub arrived, I was initially skeptical that a product that both looked and felt like polyfiller, could actually have any positive effect on my skin: it's not exactly the most interesting product to look at. However, I left my full judgement until after I had tried it for the first time.
The smoothie is velvety-soft to touch and very easy to use; I found the most effective way was to simply scoop it out of the tub with my fingers and immediately rub it all over the area I wanted to lather. Unfortunately, despite it feeling soft and silky on my skin, it didn't lather up at all, meaning I had to keep returning to the pot for seconds and thirds and fourths etc.. In fact, during my first shower, I managed to use up almost one quarter of a pot, making it a very expensive product to use regularly.
The main ingredient in Whitewash is aloe vera gel, which means that those with dry, irritated or sunburned skin should find it gentle and calming on their sensitive skin. I found that it did leave me feeling soft and clean, although I still had to moisturise afterwards, meaning it isn't as effective as other shower products at hydrating my pores.
It also possesses a lovely smell; a subtle woody scent of sandalwood intertwined with the gentle undertones of lemon. The fragrance is light and citrusy, with sweet orange and mandarin essential oils that make Whitewash lovely to use first thing in the morning for a gentle wake-up. Despite it's subtlety, the scent does linger on your skin after use, which was surprising.
Although the principal behind the shower smoothie; a great alternative to soap or shower gel, is a fun and decadent idea, Whitewash doesn't quite live up to my expectations. While I will continue to appreciate my 250g pot, I still very much prefer my shower gels, and wouldn't find use for any of Lush's Shower Smoothies to use as regular products.
Quantitative Ingredients: Water, Aloe Vera Gel, Kaolin, Rapeseed Oil, Coconut Oil, Glycerine, Titanium Dioxide, Mandarin Oil, Sweet Orange Oil, Benzoin Resinoid, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hydroxide, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, *Limonene, Perfume.
Vegan?: Yes.
2015 Price: £9.25 for 240g.
2017 Price: £9.75 for 240g.
Floating Island Bath Melt
Floating Island Bath Oil
Whitewash Shower Smoothie
Hi Jen! I'm a sort of recent Lushie, and I've fallen head over heels in love with the Floating Island scent. It is my holy grail product. I was wondering if you by chance have some Whitewash in your stash you'd be willing to sell? Or know where I could get ahold of some? Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteHi there - I'm glad you love that scent as it's lovely. Unfortunately, I do not have any whitewash smoothie at all or I would have been happy to pass it on. It is an item I can imagine making an appearance in the Kitchen at some point so keep your eyes peeled :)
DeleteIt will be in the kitchen sometime this week.
DeleteI've seen that! Despite what my review says, I'm going to buy a fresh pot to re-review. I'm hoping it was the age of this pot that didn't sell it to me to begin with.
DeleteHi Jen, have you tried your fresh pot of Whitewash yet? I have just this morning finished mine, one of my very first purchases from the Kitchen. (new Lushie that I am) I thought it was lovely to use, mine lathered up really well & it was so soft to use it was very tempting to use far more than I should...
DeleteInterested to hear your views on the new pot.
Excellent blog by the way, I now don't make a purchase without referring to it. I call it the Lush Bible. Many thanks for taking the time to do this for everyone to enjoy.
Hi Amanda - thank you for the support and I'm so glad you enjoy my blog! I have indeed tried out one of the fresh pots - I took the plunge and thought I better invest in one so I could ensure my review was accurate! I did have a better experience with the new pot - it smelled slightly stronger and was a tad more fruity on the senses. While I enjoyed using it, it still wasn't as moisturising as my usual shower gels and wasn't as strong as some of the other smoothies I have tried. It's a lovely product but not one that blows me away! :)
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