Purple Bananas Toothpaste Jelly

There are times when a small part of my teenage personality comes through in my thinking process as an adult. Without necessarily making these decisions consciously  I still find myself gravitating towards the weird and wacky; the products and places and people and experiences that take me outside of that 'norm box.' When it comes to Lush's latest toothpaste jelly releases, the two oddest flavours have become my firm favourites, and this is one of them...  

Sporting a shade of pale purple, Purple Bananas is perhaps the most interesting of the toothpaste jellies, in my opinion. Containing marigold, chamomile and cardamom as the three most prominent ingredients, I can imagine many consumers finding themselves a little skeptical that this exclusive jelly is going to be anything but enjoyable. However, I was pleasantly surprised by both the taste and smell of this, and if I can convince at least one skeptic to give it a go and discover its merits, I'll be truly happy.

To my nose, Purple Bananas smells of one of two things, depending on what you notice first. As the name suggests, there is a strong note of banana featured here, which adds a rich, sultry and rather sweat creamy base for the other ingredients to rest on. However, due to the combination of the other components, this very same note could also be seen as replicating that of the milky element that you can smell in a cup of regular tea. Confusing I know, but once you get a tub for yourself, you'll understand what I mean by this. 

Alongside this note is a gentle combination of both chamomile and marigold, which at first I was worried would produce a very strong, almost green tea-like, aroma: one that was bitter and overpowering in the mouth. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that both of these components offer a gentle and naturally sweet floral aroma - one that replicates the very smell (and taste) of a gentle cup of herbal tea. In fact, when you smell Purple Bananas from the tub, you'll probably be blown away by just how much it smells like a cup of milky tea that has been left to sit and cool for a while.

Just like the fragrance, the taste of this toothpaste jelly is equally as subtle but by no means weak. It really is like brushing your teeth with a cup of milky tea, and I found it very delicious to my palette, even though I seldomly drink tea. There is something rather sweet, herbal and floral about this aroma, and it's the perfect balance in both fragrance and taste. 

As with all of Lush's new toothpaste jellies, the idea is that you simply scoop your toothbrush across the top of the surface of the product and a small amount (or however much you wish to use) will rub off onto the bristles, and this is what you use to brush your teeth with. With all ten of these new jellies, I found that it was very easy to apply only the smallest of amount to my brush: I barely dented the surface at all to begin with, so these little 60g pots will last you a very long time. In fact, I would even say that they may outlast that of a regular-sized 200g tube of toothpaste.

Once I began brushing, I found that it 'lathered up' exactly like a regular toothpaste and at no point did I feel or experience any jelly pieces still in my mouth. The product dissolved very quickly and then worked exactly as you would hope a tooth paste would do so. Furthermore, I was able to spit the paste out multiple times and never once ran out of foam on my toothbrush. These jellies are super generous when it comes to how much foam they produce in your mouth, despite how little product you need to use. Whereas I would normally use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste, I was able to use a piece the size of a grain of rice and yet heed the same results.

What I would say is that as the product is self preserving, it's important to keep your toothbrush fairly dry when you run it across the product. Adding moisture of any kind to these naked cosmetics could reduce the shelf life of the jelly and may open up the possibility of bacteria multiplying over time. For this reason, it's also essential that the lid is left on so as not to attract any unwanted germs. Given that I can imagine one of these pots lasting me a good 3-4 months as a minimum, I certainly wouldn't want the paste exposed to any bacteria, if I can help it.

Despite how much I really enjoyed the scent and taste of Purple Bananas Toothpaste Jelly, there was a part of me that expected my experience to be less than enjoyable after rinsing my mouth out. However, I discovered that this taste works really well as making your mouth feel clean, not to mention offering a delicate floral note that lingers on your breath. I was actually really impressed how refreshed my mouth felt afterwards and my teeth felt squeaky clean beneath my tongue.

Despite the delicate (and perhaps slightly odd) taste of Purple Bananas, this toothpaste jelly did exactly what I'd expect any toothpaste to do and left my mouth with a moderate taste that stayed around for a good hour after I had finished brushing.

As I will say in all of my toothpaste jelly reviews, it was nice not to have to worry about any annoying lumps that some of Lush's toothy tabs can leave in your mouth during brushing. This little gem simply dissolved as soon as I started brushing and there wasn't any wastage from bits getting stuck in my teeth or falling out when I spat into the sink.

As with most of Lush's new toothpaste jellies, this one contains many key ingredients to actually help this product to act like a toothpaste. Hydrated silica works well as a whitening and teeth cleaning agent: helping to remove the stains from the surface of your teeth without damaging the enamel. Then there is xylitol, which is a natural sweetener that doesn't contain any fructose, so will help to protect your teeth from damage, and will hopefully help to reduce your risk of cavities over time.

Ultimately, this is perhaps not the first toothpaste jelly that I would have initially gravitated towards had I read the ingredients list. However, I really enjoyed using this one and can see this making my oral care routine much more interesting to boot. Purple Bananas may be an odd sock but it does its job well and I would highly recommend it above most of the other toothpaste jellies.

Quantitative Ingredients: Marigold Petal Infusion (Calendula Officinalis), Sorbitol, Glycerine, Silica, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Xylitol, Roman Chamomile Oil (Anthemis nobilis), Cardamom Oil (Elettaria cardamomum), Sicilian Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum), Banana Extract (Musa acuminata), Stevia (Stevia Rebaudiana), Agar Agar (Gelidium cartilagineum), Carrageenan Extract (Chondrus crispus), Titanium Dioxide, Water (Aqua), *Eugenol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Flavour, Colour 17200, Colour 42090.

Vegan?: Yes. 

2019 Price: £ each.

Year Of Original Release: 2019.