Life's A Beach Shower Scrub

Despite being a global brand, Lush often release products in particular stores and countries that they don't offer to anyone else around the world. While I recognise that the company is not strictly run by Mark Constantine and his UK bandits, it can often be frustrating when you cannot acquire certain items - most notably from Japan, America and Canada. 

When pictures of Life's A Beach Shower Scrub surfaced online, everyone within the UK was eager to pick it up - relieved that they could finally try out the scrub that up until then had only been an exclusive in Australia and New Zealand. Unfortunately, it was discovered relatively quickly that the two products were not the same - this one being a vanilla fragrance while the other being watermelon. Although I maintain that the latter one is my favourite of the two, this Oxford Street beauty is still a valuable addition to Lush's product list and one that I will buy again and again.  

So what makes this product so special? And how does it differ from Lush's usual scrubs? Well, much like the Australian addition, this product is made up mostly of salt and sand - two natural exfoliators that give this scrub quite a harsh consistency - one that can be used as gently or as severely as you wish. I'm one for a coarse exfoliation as it keeps my skin soft and free of pesky dry areas, so I loved that this scrub was able to get to work at cleansing and smoothening my skin so effectively. If you have more sensitive skin, you can apply less pressure to the area and it'll work exactly as you want it to. 

With tonka and vanilla absolute, this shower scrub has a rich and rather powdery sweet smell to it. When in use, it reminds me of the vanillary smell you find in Vanilla Fountain Bath Ballistic but a little more rounded and far heavier on the senses. Surprisingly, it is also a fragrance that lingers for a long time on your skin both during and after your shower, so if you want to feel and smell beautiful, this is the product for you. 

Unfortunately, I don't think it sells itself well when it's in the box as it emits almost a 'plasticky' smell that's rather unpleasant. For this reason, I can see some consumers being deterred from purchasing it altogether because of their initial impression, which is a shame as it's rather beautiful when in use. If you're one for making a rash decision, I would urge you to give this scrub a little time to win you over - you're more than likely going to impressed. 

Unlike a lot of other scrubs that I have tried from Lush, this one is bone-dry so it needs to be stored well in-between uses. I would suggest that you transfer this to an empty black tub so you can ensure it doesn't end up like a bucket of sand at high tide. Having said this, it is its consistency that makes it so special and a much better exfoliator than most of the products I have tried so far.

While I love Rub Rub Rub and Ocean Salt, those with sensitive skin or people who are opposed to products that feel too heavy or overbearing, might find both of these slightly too slimy and relatively greasy for their liking. Life's A Beach eradicates this feeling because there aren't any oils or butters present to clog up the pores of leave 

In a sense, this product is just glorified sand with a few fragrances thrown in to make it a little more marketable. However, it is also a product that works exceptionally well. Firstly, I love the fact that I can rigorously scrub my body down and not have to worry about breaking the product under the water. Secondly, I find it much more manageable to scoop/pour out the amount I want and spread it across my skin without losing chunks down the plughole. 

Whereas an average size scrub such as Sugar Plum Fairy Sugar Scrub will only give me a handful of uses and will often dissolve slightly in-between each shower because of the damp conditions, this product can be kept sealed away from any stray liquid and will last a good 30+ showers, depending on how generous you are with each use. 

After using Life's A Beach, I can safely say that my skin felt wonderfully soft and radiated a beautiful sugary-sweet vanilla aroma with just a sprinkling of jasmine to deepen the experience. My only advice would be to keep this away from newly-shaved legs - my common sense didn't obviously prevail the day I thought it would be okay to mix open pores with fresh sea salt. Ouch. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Fine Sea Salt, Sand, Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Perfume, Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Jasmine Absolute (Jasminum grandiflorum), Tonka Absolute (Dipteryx odorata), Fair Trade Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia), Lilial, Coumarin, Farnesol, Perfume. 

Vegan?: Yes. 

2015 Price: £9.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2015.