One of my favourite aspects about Lush is the backstories and inspirations behind some their products. There's nothing more romantic than knowing one of your favourite cosmetics has been created from an old poem or story, and this soap is one such item.
I first came across Willow Pattern Soap back in 2012, when Lush brought it out as part of their limited edition Valentine's Day range. Designed to play homage to the popular classic white and blue etchings known as 'willow pattern', this soap was inspired by the story that gives these designs their name. Featuring jinxed lovers, revenge, death and tragedy, the tale is enough to put anyone off love forever.
To look at, this soap is one of the most stunning designs that Lush have ever released. From a distance, it looks rather plain - a hard block of white with lines of shimmery-blue etched across the top. In fact, if you've only got a small chunk, you may find that it doesn't look any prettier closer up either. However, when you marvel the full design of the soap, you cannot help but be mesmerised by the intricate patterns that decorate the surface of the soap, and whether or not you enjoy the scent, it's worth buying a piece just to marvel these patterns up close.
Described as a rose and lemon soap, Willow Pattern has a distinctive floral smell, which is very similar in scent to the Rose Jam Bubbleroon and shower gel. The immediate aroma that this product gives off is a creamy but equal poignant rose scent - it's not as sugary as the Rose Jam range but at the same time, it's not as powdery as Tisty Tosty. It sits somewhere in the middle of these two scents and is the perfect balance of rose and sweetness.
The sicilian lemon compliments the rose scent perfectly and just adds an uplifting element to the overall fragrance - the white tea infusion also adds a subtle underlying presence that gives the soap a herbal element. Although I can detect each and every one of the above ingredients, it's predominantly rose-scented, which makes the soap wonderfully fresh and sultry.
In the shower, Willow Pattern lathers up really well and produces a thick, creamy lather to massage all over your body. However, unlike most of Lush's other soaps, the lather from this one has almost a clay consistency - a little like what you'd get when using Big Conditioner or Fresh Farmacy Soap.
The product leaves your skin feeling really clean and soft, although it did dry my hands out a little when I was massaging this between my palms. I focused mostly on using this soap on my legs and found that it worked as a great alternative to shaving cream. It kept my legs moisturised and lubricated but taut enough that I didn't cut myself whilst shaving.
A 100g block will set you back a little over £4, which makes it one of the most expensive soaps you can buy from Lush. However, it's one of those compact soaps that last a lot longer than the softer variations. I found that when I kept this dry between uses, a chunk could easily last me almost two months, which makes it good value for money.
It leaves your skin smelling wonderfully floral when you leave the shower, and I would recommend this more for females than males. The strong rose scent is definitely not an old-fashioned scent, but it would definitely appeal to girls more than boys. I hope that Lush bring this out again in the near future as I would appreciate getting myself a few more blocks to see me through the year.
Quantitative Ingredients: Propylene Glycol, White Tea Infusion (Camellia sinensis), Rapeseed Oil, Coconut Oil (Brassica napus; Cocos nucifera), Kaolin, Water (Aqua), Cornflour (Zea Mays), Talc, Perfume, Titanium Dioxide, Rose Absolute (Rosa damascena), EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Synethic Fluorphlogopite, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Citronellol, Linalool, Limonene, Colour 77510.
Vegan?: Yes.
2017 Price: £4.95 for 100g.
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