I love it when a product surpasses all of my expectations and becomes one of my favourite all-time Lush items. Especially when the product was one that I'd pretty much written off as being average before I had even tried it.
This was my initial feelings towards Miranda soap; a product that to me wasn't particularly appealing to look at and didn't harvest a strong enough scent to grab my attention in the shop. However, some six months after it had been abandoned in my soap drawer, this product made a reappearance...and completely blew me out of the water.
I can hear your collective sighs now. Jen, why don't you ever learn? Why are you always so pessimistic towards your favourite cosmetics company in the world? etc.etc.etc. The truth is that, for every product that captivates my love, there's another twenty that just about hold my interest for a few minutes, and with such a large collection to get through, there are bound to be those items that slip through the net, only to reappear and slap you in the face.
Old Formula |
Named after Carmen Miranda, a famous 70's singer who was known for her headdress made of fruit, the soap boasts a list of fresh ingredients, all of which add to it's wonderful aroma and moisturising properties. The key ingredient here is Kiwi Fruit, which gives this soap a wonderful fresh and fruity but slightly subtle fragrance. To mask the Kiwi's sourness, Lush have also added ylang ylang, juniperberry and bergamot oil, all of which accentuates the soap's fruitiness, whilst adding a wonderful creamy and slightly spicy aroma to the overall smell.
Although it's not listed as so, I think this soap smells almost identical to that of Lush's limited edition Christmas soap, Angel's Delight. Miranda has more of a natural smell and slightly less of a sherberty after scent to it, but there's not much difference here at all.
Not only is the smell terrific, but it also happens to work marvellously in the shower. It lathers up rather easily, producing a foam that's slightly oily in consistency. This lather contains astringent properties which calm sensitive skin and helps to soften and moisturise your body. After you've rubbed this soap all over your body, you can really feel how gentle your skin becomes; it's almost instant. Packed full of kiwis, it's the vitamin K here that helps to cleanse and revive your skin, while the addition of kiwi seeds give this soap a slightly coarse texture. This latter feature makes Miranda a light exfoliant without being too grainy or harsh on the skin.
The main reason why I love this product is that possesses such a beautiful, uplifting scent that lingers on your skin and around the bathroom long after you've left the shower. As it lathers up so easily, you don't have to keep rubbing it between your hands which I find can often suck the moisture out of your hands and leave them feeling dry and taut.
The only negative aspect about this soap is that I found it shrinks far more noticeably than other Lush soaps. I'm always careful to store my solid products out of reach of the damp, and despite all of these precautions in place, I still found that a 100g block of Miranda will only last me between 1-2 weeks, using it twice daily.
Lush describe Miranda as a 'fresh fruit salad of a soap' and I'd definitely agree with this statement. It soothes and tones my skin, and sets me up wonderfully for the day ahead. I hope this remains a permanent product for a long time to come.
Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Chloride , Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Rapeseed Oil, Coconut Oil (Brassica napus; Cocos nucifera), Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Stearate, Fragrance, Fresh Kiwi Fruit (Actinidia chinensis), Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Myrrh Resinoid (Commiphora myrrha), Juniperberry Oil (Juniperus communis), Bergamot Oil (Citrus Aurantium bergamia), Glycerine, Sodium Chloride, Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Titanium Dioxide, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Limonene, Linalool, D&C Red No. 33, FD&C Red No. 4, FD&C Blue No. 1, FD&C Yellow No. 5.
Vegan?: Yes.
2014 Price: £3.40 for 100g.
2015 Price: £3.40 for 100g.