Lush Mechanic Cold-Pressed Soap

After the success of my first experience with Lush's new cold-pressed soaps, I was eager to try out the other two that had been sitting for quite a while in their paper bags. While it was the one I was least excited about trying, I was in the mood for something sweet and felt that this one was rather appropriate to satisfy my cravings.

Lush Mechanic Cold-Pressed Soap is one of three new additions to the Oxford Street soap extravaganza -  an oblong shaped lump of orchard-purple material with a silver spanner pressed into the top of the soap as a garnish. As far as soaps go, it's not the most attractive ones that Lush currently offer, but it's definitely one of the best. 

Sharing it's scent with Snow Fairy, this strange looking product is not like your average piece of soap. As with all three members of Lush's new cold-pressed range, this product has been manufactured in a slightly different way to how the company normally create their soaps. 

When making soaps, most companies tend to heat up their oils, melt them down and mix them together before leaving them to set before cutting them to size. Cold-pressed is when ingredients are pressed, ground down, infused and mixed together while keeping the temperature low at all times (below 49°C to be precise). The lack of heat used throughout this process means that the oils retain all of their flavour, aroma and nutritional value - making them better for consumption as well as for the skin.

My rapport with Lush Mechanic was an almost instantaneous one. Not only did it lather up with ease - creating a thick, fluffy and very fragrant foam to wash myself with, I was also impressed that the soap wasn't very drying on the skin - a factor I expect from pretty much all of the soaps I try. While I find some soaps can leave my skin feeling parched and a little too 'squeaky-clean' after use, I really appreciated the fact that this one left my body feeling soft and smooth, and didn't appear to remove any of the moisture from my skin. 

Featuring rosemary oil to help heal cuts and abrasions, this soap is very gentle on the skin and will leave you feeling clean. Yet the inclusion of ground pumice powder means that the lather is speckled with tiny beads of powder that allow for the foam to be a gentle exfoliator at the same time. It's definitely a strange consistency for a soap, but it works.  

Containing ylang ylang, bergamot and vanilla absolute, this soap is more on par with the limited edition Snow Fairy Liquid Perfume than it is with the shower gel format. The inclusion of clove bud oil helps to give the soap a rich base note onto which all of the other components merge together wonderfully, and the fragrance remains strong enough to leave an impression on your skin and bathroom for a long time after use. 

Furthermore, because it was quite a solid chunk, I didn't see much of a change in size between uses - meaning that a block would last you a good couple of months if kept in the dry. 

While I wouldn't say that this is my favourite soap, it is definitely one I would invest in again. The cold-pressed element of this product clearly allows the various oils to be much more effective than ones that have been heated up. This is evident in how wonderful my skin felt after using the soap. Although it doesn't look like much, Lush Mechanic is a successful new invention from Lush and one that will hopefully inspire many more cold-pressed products to be released in the future. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Rapeseed Oil; Coconut Oil (Brassica napus; Cocos nucifera), Rosemary Infusion (Rosmarinus officinalis), Fair Trade Olive Oil (Olea europaea), Water (Aqua), Pumice Powder, Perfume, Cornstarch (Zea mays), Sodium Hydroxide, Glycerine, Orris Root Powder (Iris florentina), Bergamot Oil (Citrus Aurantium bergamia), Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Fair Trade Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia), Benzoin Gum Powder (Styrax Benzoin), Sodium Chloride, Citric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Alpha- Isomethyl ionone, Eugenol, Limonene, Linalool, Colour 17200, Colour 45410!

Vegan?: Yes.

2015 Price: £4.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2015.

Scent Family:

Best Washes Wash Card
Bubblegum Lip Scrub
Candy Fluff Ballistic
Candy Fluff Perfume
Candy Fluff Dusting Powder
Fairy Dust Dusting Powder
Father Christmas Bath Bomb
Fluffy Egg Bath Bomb
Godmother Soap
Lush Mechanic Cold-Pressed Soap
Magic Wand Bubble Bar
Melting Marshmallow Moment Bath Oil
Mmmelting Marshmallow Bath Melt
Pink Easter Egg Ballistic
Snow Fairy Body Conditioner
Snow Fairy Body Spray
Snow Fairy Cold-Pressed Soap
Snow Fairy Jelly Bath Bomb
Snow Fairy Lip Tint
Snow Fairy Liquid Perfume
Snow Fairy Naked Body Conditioner
Snow Fairy Naked Shower Gel
Snow Fairy Shower Gel
Snow Fairy Solid Perfume
Snow Fairy Sparkle Jar
Snow Fairy Sparkle Massage Bar