Scrub Scrub Scrub Body Scrub

It has always been a dream of mine to create products for Lush Cosmetics. As someone who loves the arts; has a passion for building and making a variety of crafts; and is in love with every aspect of cooking, the idea of being able to combine different fragrances and manipulate a variety of compound ingredients to create a brand new idea just seems like the ultimate dream. The only downfall would be in not being able to eat it afterwards.

Looking at what has gone into making Scrub Scrub Scrub, it almost reads like a recipe for a high end dessert: blackberry and lime purees, blackcurrant powders and rosemary oil. Yet at the same time, I found it very difficult to decipher what this alluring looking black scrub would actually smell like when it arrived. While rumours circulated about a possible Comforter-scented release, I held out for something a little different, and I was not disappointed. 

In the tub, this dark mess of charcoal and oils does have a strong blackcurrant note that continues to shine during usage in the shower. While I can see why people have made the Comforter link, I find this note of blackcurrant stronger and a little more bitter as well: almost like the blackcurrants you find on the top of a cheesecake. The inclusion of the blackberry puree combines with the blackcurrant here and you can recognise that berry-eque note present alongside. Together, they offer a strong fruity note, that by itself would be rather boring. However, there's so much more to this scrub - which is why it's so interesting. 

Alongside the fruity notes, you get a strong layer of both pine and rosemary. The latter ingredient offers a strong, herbal note, both inside the pot and when the scrub is being used in the shower. In fact, it is the rosemary that lasts the longest on the skin - staying past when the blackcurrant aroma as long gone. The pine oil also adds a very exquisite green note in the tub, and I think it is this particular ingredient that creates the juxtaposition of smells - and the reason why so many people have found the fragrance a little distasteful once they've brought it home from the shop.

There is a slight part of me that feels that these three elements are almost contradicting each other, and to be begin with the scent sat a little uneasy with me as well. However, very quickly I realised the beauty in such a unique pairing of ingredients, and now I cannot get enough of the scrub.

To me, the scrub reminds me very much of Halls Blackcurrant Soothers: there is something slightly medicinal about the smell that may be a little off-putting to some. I also feel as if you can smell the charcoal a little in the mix, so you get a very eclectic array of notes.

Although the scrub itself appears rather thick in the tub, I found it to be quite light when scooping it out, and it definitely wasn't as coarse as I was expecting it to be. In fact, it wasn't far off being as gentle on the skin as Rub Rub Rub, although there was certainly more of a scrubbier side to the product that set it apart from the aforementioned classic. 

In the shower, the scrub massages over your body with ease and you don't need an awful lot to coat every area of your skin. Once applied, exfoliating in a circular motion will gently remove dry skin and dirt, and leave you with super soft skin. Once out of the shower however, only the rosemary lingers on the skin, and this is short-lived as well because I couldn't detect anything without five minutes of drying myself down. 

It would have been lovely to still be able to smell the amalgamation of different ingredients after I had exited the shower, but at least I was able to notice that my skin looked and felt really clear and clean. Scrub Scrub Scrub definitely works at clearing out pores without irritating the skin, and it's great for those with oilier complexions because the charcoal will absorb unwanted grease.

The only downfall about this product is that it can make a bit of a mess around your bathroom. So while it won't stain, it would definitely make your life easier if you were a little careful when using this in the shower, and I'd recommend that you rinse the sides/walls afterwards, to ensure no clumps of black are found later on. 

While this doesn't reach the same level as Cup 'O Coffee, this is definitely a scrub I would buy again. Although it's not as coarse as the products I'd usually go for, there's enough character in the smell, and enough evidence after use, to tell me that this is one that does the job it's set out to do.           

Quantitative Ingredients: Fine Sea Salt, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Blackberry Puree, Lime Puree, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Powdered Charcoal, Propylene, Glycol, Organic Blackcurrant Powder, Blackcurrant Absolute, Buchu Oil, Rosemary Oil, Pine Oil, Lactic Acid, Lauryl Betaine, *Citral, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume.

Vegan?: Yes.

2018 Price: £12.95 for 300g, £23.95 for 625g.

Year Of Original Release: 2018.