Big Hugs Soap

Although my job is a very social one, and I am lucky enough to be surrounded by some amazing characters every day, I live what some people would consider a very reserved life. While I am enthusiastic and very much 'present' when in charge of the thirty children in my class, I find myself reverting away from social situations when at home. This stems partly from the fact that I enjoy my own company - I've never been one to need interaction with others to feel contented; and partly because being so actively engaged all day is incredibly draining.

This is why I am usually to be found embracing the warmth and reassurance of a hot bath - rounding off the day with a sensual experience that'll lead me into the next with a revived sense of clarity. This is why I was rather excited when I discovered that Lush had created a soap intent on bringing you the joys of a much-needed hug through the use of carefully selected fragrances.

Big Hugs Soap is the epitome of its own name. From the moment your piece is released from its wrapper, the sweet and creamy aroma greets you like a long-lost friend. While Lush have created many warming scents over the years, this really is one of the prettiest and most comforting floral arrangements that they have released so. While it will never replace the feeling of real human interaction, skin-on-skin, it's definitely a great temporary replacement for those in need of a comforting embrace.

Sharing its scent with both Alkmaar and Fairy Ring Soap, this smell works exceptionally well in this format. Led by both the jasmine and the vertivert, Big Hugs is a warm blanket of smells: the jasmine offering a rich, sweet floral layer with a subtle hint of green underneath. This latter note allows the jasmine to come across as uplifting and refreshing, and its wonderful floral properties are elevated by the warmth of the shower.

Alongside side this is the vertivert, which I believe is just as prominent in the overall fragrance as the jasmine is. Vertivert has a very deep but equally as  sweet, woody aroma - one that has a faint element of smokiness to it that adds depth and richness to the soap. This ingredient builds up a complex and very well-rounded smell - it adds muskiness to the scent, and an element of earthiness as well.

While I don't want to downplay either of the unique ingredients mentioned above, I will say that for those who have never experienced anything in this scent before, the easiest way of describing the soap is to say that it has a full-bodied coconut fragrance with added floral elements alongside this. Big Hugs is definitely more complex and more interesting than the aforementioned description, but it's a good way to envisage whether or not you'd enjoy the scent.

This is one of Lush's more rigid soaps, and its hardened consistency means that it takes a little extra effort to create a generous amount of lather. I found it easier to collect water in the palm of my hand, stimulate the foam by massaging the soap in a circular direction, and then run my hands across my skin to build a  little extra foam.

What is great about Big Hugs is that the scent lends itself so well to permeating the skin, and you will smell its warming embrace on your body for a few hours after exiting the shower. The nature of the fragrance means that it doesn't change at all when in contact with the water and heat. Instead, the aroma is projected and elevated in the wisps of steam around the room, and cocoons you like a warming blanket.

My only issue with the soap is that it wasn't as moisturising as a shower gel or jelly would have been. As I've stated multiple times, my skin tends to become rather dry and parched after using a lot of soaps, and I found that I had to moisturise afterwards to ensure my skin didn't become taut or dry. However, my skin did have a wonderful glean to it after I had towelled myself down, and those who can use soaps regularly will unlikely have a problem using this one.

Overall, this is a soap for those who like jasmine in its more gentler form, and for those for enjoy the sweeter, creamier floral fragrances. While I'll continue to use this during the colder months, there'll be a small part of me that hopes that it wont be the the only form of hug I receive this year.    

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Glycerine, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Sorbitol, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Stearate, Perfume, Jasmine Absolute, Styrax Resinoid, Vetivert Oil, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, *Cinnamyl, Alcohol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Colour 17200, Colour 14700, Colour 45410.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £4.50 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2006. 

Scent Family:
Alkmaar Soap
All That Jas Bath Bomb
Big Hugs Soap
Coconut Rice Cake Solid Shampoo Bar
Factory Mix-up It's A Date Bubble Bar
Fairy Jasmine Ballistic 
Fairy Ring Soap
Mistletoe Bath Bomb 
Silky Underwear Dusting Powder
Silky Underwear Liquid Perfume
Silky Underwear Solid Perfume
Turbo Bubble Bar