Lush Lime Shower Smoothie

I was lucky enough to win a tub of this on eBay a few years ago, having read about it on the Lush US site and finding myself really excited about the combination of ingredients used. Having only tried two other shower smoothies at this point, Whitewash and the rather wonderful Creamed Almond and Coconut, I was intrigued how this one would compare to both of these.

Lush describe Lush Lime Smoothie as 'a phenomenally fruity smoothie soap to clean, tone and soften your skin with coconut and almond oils, strawberry and butternut squash infusions. Wakes you up with grapefruit, orange and lime.' 

When you read that, it sounds more like a dessert - not something you'd think of smearing all over your body, which is exactly what Lush are aiming for with their smoothie products. They wanted a product that sits between a solid soap and a shower gel; one that's as easy to apply as the latter but also contains lots of key oils and butters to give you that extra moisturising touch. Shower smoothies tend to be creamier than shower gels, and therefore more moisturising. However, they don't lather up like you would expect a shower gel to do, instead working on softening and hydrating your skin instead. 

Lush claim that this product is 'a smooth citrus blast of sunshine' and I can definitely see why. Aside from the different oils which have been added to soften and relax the skin, Lush Lime also has lime juice, fresh strawberries, grapefruit oil and orange flower absolute to give this smoothie a beautiful fresh scent. While the strawberries are slightly stronger than the lime, the citrus element helps to round the overall fragrance of this product and give off a thick, creamy fruity smell. 

Despite the different fruits used, this shower smoothie isn't overly powerful and reminded me a little of the now-discontinued Artemis Cream Lotion; that subtle but creamy fruity fragrance that has the slightest hint of coconut oil coming through to compliment and round off the overall scent. 

The most interesting aspect about this product is the use of fresh butternut squash, an ingredient I haven't seen being used that often in cosmetics. This helps to thicken the smoothie and soften your skin at the same time. You can really see how this ingredient effects the consistency and smell of the smoothie as it was incredibly light and fluffy and there was an element of sweetness that I could only credit the root vegetable for. 

Lush Lime's consistency is a little different from both of the other smoothies I've tried so far; this one is like a thick yoghurt with just the slightest elasticity, which makes it easy to remove from the pot during use. I can't say it's very attractive, presenting itself as on off-white coloured gunk, but it's not an aspect that really matters to me. 

The best way to use this, as with all other smoothies, is to scoop out as much or as little as you want and lather it straight onto the part of your body you want cleansing. Then simply rinse under water and towel dry yourself down. Normally, I tend to use the smoothies as an extra treat once I've used my regular shower gel as I don't always feel fully clean when I use it by itself. As with the array of butter creams that Lush have brought out over the years, I find that these sorts of products are better used as a luxurious finishing touch, rather than for solely cleaning yourself. However, this is a personal preference so you can use your smoothies as you wish. 

What dissappointed me at first with Lush Lime, is that I found it was slightly drying on the skin, and whereas Creamed Almond & Coconut left my body feeling velvety soft after I had gotten out of the shower, this one's effect wore off as soon as the water washed the foam away. Furthermore, the wonderful mellow smell that it possessed in the tub, didn't remain on my skin at all and I still needed to moisturise after my shower. 

However, I realised very quickly that this was due to the age of the product itself and when I had the opportunity to pick up a fresh tub of the smoothie in the Lush Kitchen, I found that it in fact did the very opposite. It left my skin silky smooth and I found that I didn't have to use a lot to clean my entire body. While it didn't leave much of a scent after I had left the shower, the effects that the oils and butters had on my skin was enough for me to appreciate its worth. 

One final problem which effects all of Lush's tubbed shower treats, is that because you have the freedom to scoop out the amount you need, you very often take too much. For this reason, make sure that you're not too greedy when you're using this as you could quite easily polish off an entire pot in under two weeks. 

While my original experience left me feeling rather disappointed with Lush Lime, a fresh pot revealed how effective it was at cleaning, moisturising and softening the body, whilst being really gentle on my skin. While I would have liked it to have pertained a stronger aroma, it does exactly what it says on the tin and I would definitely buy this again.

Quantitative Ingredients: Fresh Butternut Squash Infusion, Glycerine, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Almond Oil, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Fresh Organic Lime Juice, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Fresh Strawberries, Water, Grapefruit Oil, Orange Flower Absolute, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hydroxide, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, *Limonene, Perfume, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes.

2015 Price: £9.50 for 250g. 

2016 Price: £9.75 for 250g. 

2017 Price: £9.95 for 250g. 

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