All Things Lush UK: Ice Blue Soap

21 April 2014

Ice Blue Soap

There's something about this soap's crisp blue demeanour that catches the eye - it certainly did for me. Some would argue that the simplicity of it's design is actually detrimental to it's overall appeal - who wants to purchase a soap like this when you can have one with swirls and glitter, blocks of colour and shapes of stars - ladened with real fruit and honey or topped with fresh sea salt and oats? However, it was the soap's simplicity that intrigued me, and led me to buy a small chunk when I visited a Lush store the other day.

Although a 'new' addition to Lush's current regular range, Ice Blue is not a brand new addition to the family; having been first introduced some eight years ago as part of their 2006 collection. Claiming to be both refreshing and uplifting, this product uses the power of peppermint and orange oil to create a crisp, clean mint-scented soap to awaken your senses and help freshen you up first thing in the morning.

This soap's dominating ingredient is peppermint oil. Firstly, this supplies the product with a wonderfully strong and natural mint fragrance, with just the slightest herbal undertones. Secondly, the oil stimulates the blood vessels and nerve endings in your body, which cools and soothes your body, leaving your skin feeling seriously clean and tingling slightly. Although you don't feel this sensation immediately, it's a wonderful feeling when you step out of the shower and towel yourself down. For the summer months, this would be the perfect company after a hot day on the beach or if your skin is feeling slightly parched or dehydrated.

Although it's very subtle, Lush have also included both sweet wild orange oil and bergamot oil in here, which just adds the slightest note of citrus in the overall fragrance. I couldn't pick out either of these two ingredients until I had begun using it - the heat from the water will coax these scents out and add a touch of zest to the experience.

In the shower, Ice Blue works as you would expect. Although it doesn't produce an amass of lather to clean yourself with, it does create enough foam to massage across your body. What I really liked about this soap, is that it leaves your skin velvety soft and highly moisturised, two effects you would not expect from a soap. It's quite stubborn at releasing any lather, producing more of a creamy, oily substance instead, although it still makes your body feel soft and clean.

I find that this soap works better if you massage it directly onto your skin and not try to lather it between your palms. A bonus feature of this soap is that it lasts for ages, it's not one that tends to shrivel or shrink when it's come in contact with liquid, so don't be afraid to use this one directly under the shower hose.

Once you've left the shower, the peppermint smell will linger on your body for a few hours after use, while your skin will feel clean, cool and smooth throughout the day. As you would expect with a soap that shares it's scent with Freeze Shower Gel, this is a uni-sex product, and one that works best at times when you just need that little extra something to awaken your senses. I would definitely buy this again.

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Fine Sea Salt, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Stearate, Perfume, Sweet Wild Orange Oil, Bergamot Oil, Peppermint Oil, Coarse Sea Salt, Glycerine, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Sodium Hydroxide, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Hydroxycitronellal, Limonene, Linalool, Colour 42090.

Vegan?: Yes.

2015 Price: £3.10 for 100g.