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8 August 2014

Lemslip Butter Cream


When I first hear the words 'buttercream', I immediately think of the gorgeous fluffy filling that decorates the top of my homemade vegan cupcakes; that creamy, sugary treat that forms my favourite part of baking. So when my tub of Lemslip Butter Cream arrived in the post, I was a little disappointed that I wasn't able to scoop out a handful and gobble it up right there and then.

Lemslip is one of Lush's most popular butter creams to date, so it's surprising to learn that it's not been a commercially available product for a number of years. Made with fresh lemon juice and seaweed, amongst other ingredients, this is a product designed to moisturise and soften your skin, leaving it beautifully nourished and smelling a treat.

Firstly, Lush have used fresh lemon juice - a key ingredient that not only dominates the product's smell, but cleanses the skin with it's antibacterial properties - giving you a healthy glow. Next up there's cocoa and coconut butter, both highly cleansing and moisturising ingredients that smoothens your skin and helps to eradicate dry patches. Finally, Irish moss seaweed is added to support the other ingredients in softening and regenerating your skin, whilst sea salt and citrus oils clear up spotty areas and removes excess oil.

Together, these ingredients create a beautiful smelling butter cream that works a little like a soft soap . As the pot suggests, I tend to scoop out my desired amount and lather it all over my skin. Unfortunately, when compared to the other buttercreams I've been enjoying recently, this one is harder to use and far clumpier than the likes of Almond and Heavenly Bodies. I found that it didn't lather over my skin very easily and a good amount of the product was lost down the plughole for this very reason. 

When I gave the product a little more time, I did find it worked better when I mushed the butter cream between my palms before applying it to my skin. Doing this beforehand also made it slightly easier to get a little lather going and I found that this made the product more effective. While it left my skin smelling rather delicious, I didn't feel as clean or as nourished as I have done with other buttercreams. 

Lemslip is aimed at those people with oily or greasy skin, something I don't really suffer from. For this reason, I was a little worried that it would dry my skin out. While I did find it wasn't anywhere near as moisturising as other buttercreams, it did leave me with a wonderful glow that I could feel on my skin all day. 

Despite proclaiming to be a huge fan of citrus-scented products, and finding the smell of this rather pleasant, it was still not as wonderful as I was expecting on first sniff. I felt that the lemon was too one-dimensional - the scent I picked up was a sour combination of lemon and lime; very similar to that of lime cordial without any of the butteriness or complexity I was hoping for. At the beginning, I couldn't detect anything aside from the tartness of the lemon and this was disappointing. However, when I spent more time with the buttercream, I found that a more-rounded citrus scent presented itself to me. This smell was reminiscent of lemon meringue pie and cheesecake - far richer than I originally picked up. This is definitely a product you need to take your time with - the beauty of it doesn't make itself known straight away.

To start with, Lemslip comes across as more of a 'toilet-cleaner' sort of smell - more so than the foody one I was expecting. However, with time and patience, you do get a far richer and more beautiful citrus smell come through. For those who like strong scents, this smell did seem to linger on my skin for a while after showering and it was far from unpleasant - just not as yummy and creamy as I wanted. 

Overall, Lemslip is a nice product that would no doubt perk you up first thing in the morning - one which left my skin feeling renewed and refreshed. However, it's a rather costly alternative to shower gel or soap, and for those of us with normal or slightly dry skin, you may find that this is not as nourishing as some of the other products available. Although I have grown to appreciate it more after using it daily, it wasn't as instantly gratifying as other Lush buttercreams so I would probably not be willing to buy it again. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Irish Moss Gel, Glycerine, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Fresh Organic Lemon Juice, Cocoa Butter, Water (Aqua), Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Perfume, Lime Oil, Sweet Wild Orange Oil, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Limonene, Citral, Gardenia Extract.

Vegan?: Yes.

2015 Price: £10.25 for 250g.

Scent Family: 

2 comments

  1. Hi Jen, I love all the tips you have about products. I'm so in love with Lemslip, but I'm a massive citrus fan anyway. I think I love it more than Almond Buttercream or Strawberry Boat, neither of which made any soap suds/lather for me. With Lemslip I try to soften it up in the palm of my hands before spreading the blob over my body. I did lose a piece down the drain before I started doing that! I can't wait to try the new massage bars now :)

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  2. I have found that it is wonderful as a bath melt. Even though it's not as nourishing, it gives the bath a nice velvety feel and a strong fresh citrus smell. I like it in cocktails, to give a little freshness😊

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