Rosebud Soap

Let’s be honest: when Lush advertise a brand new soap by the name of Rosebud, most fans aren’t exactly going to get overly excited by the prospect. Unless you’re a new fan of the company, another product based on the rose is as far away from original as could possibly be. Lush’s back catalogue is simply saturated with the fragrance.

Although Rosebud has a floral aroma, and one heavily influenced by the inclusion of the white rose petals, the scent of this is definitely a lot more interesting than I was expecting it to be. 

There is something rather old-fashioned about the smell of this. Both the neroli and the orange flower combine to create a fragrance that is very intoxicating without being powdery; as well as producing a scent that is bitter, fruity and floral at the same time. The neroli adds a citrusy, green layer that’s gives the aroma a light, fresh floral note to the soap; the orange flower offers a sweet but slightly wet-like cloud of smell that drives this aroma forward. 

Finally, the inclusion of castor oil adds a rich, sultry layer that gives the soap an almost smoky, liquorice element to enjoy. While this is very subtle in the mix, it is definitely part of the layers that make up this wonderful fragrance.

Together, these ingredients intertwine   with the white petals to create a very rich, complex floral aroma - one with many layers that can be picked out individually whilst still working so well in unison with each other. The smell of this is very different to anything else that Lush have released so far, which meant that I enjoyed this fragrance more than I was expecting to.

As with Loosestrife, this soap was shaped perfectly so I found it very easy to use this in the shower, without dropping it constantly as I often find myself doing. Likewise, the scent was super strong both before my shower and whilst I was using it in the shower, and it stayed on my skin and my hair for a good whole after towelling myself down. 

In its favour, this soap was incredibly easy to lather up and produced a thick, oil-like foam to wash my body with. While not as generous as the aforementioned Mother’s Day Soap, this one didn’t need too much stimulation to work well and I found that I could create enough lather in my hands to place the bar away from the shower whilst I washed myself. This was definitely important, as this soap did tend to shrink very quickly when in contact with the water. If you don’t keep this dry in between uses, you will find that you’ll use Rosebud far more quickly than you would perhaps like to, making it an expensive investment when compared to other soaps.

Unlike Loosestrife, I found that while this soap cleaned my skin and left it feeling really refreshed and crisp, the soap didn’t offer much in the way of moisturising properties. For this reason, I had to moisture myself after my shower as my legs in-particular began to look rather dry and parched. Despite this, I was pleased to find that the areas of my body that had been sunburnt the previous day appeared to feel far calmer and less sore after using this a couple of times afterwards, and I believe that the rose petals helped to calm my skin and speed up my recovery.

Overall, the smell of this was an experience that I really enjoyed as it was far different from anything that Lush have ever released before. Fans of floral scents, both heavy and light, will appreciate the naturally beautiful scent that this soap has to offer, and even those not so keen on these types of fragrances might still enjoy it to some extent as well. While I would never claim to be much of a floral fanatic, I would definitely appreciate a Bath Bomb in this scent, and think a dusting powder might even be an interesting format as well. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Propylene, Glycol, Water (Aqua), White Rose Petal Infusion, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Organic Castor Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Perfume, Neroli Oil, Orange Flower Absolute, Ylang Ylang Oil, Tuberose Absolute, Oat Milk, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Glycerine, Rose Water, Tincture of Benzoin, Gardenia Extract, Titanium Dioxide, Citric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine Cetearyl, Alcohol, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Farnesol, *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Benzyl Salicylate, Hydroxycitronellal, Colour 45350, Colour 14700, Colour 17200, Colour 15510.

Vegan?: Yes.

2018 Price: £5.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2018.