Orangutan Soap

This review was going to start by throwing some shocking facts at you, about how little Orangutans there are left in the wild, and how endangered they have now become because of deforestation in Sumatra, Indonesia. However, the shocking fact is that far too many animals have now been added to the 'soon to be extinct' list, and it's a sad state of affairs that not many people are doing very much to diminish that list. 

Orangutan Soap was release by Lush a few months ago - to not only raise money for the Sumatran Orangutan Society (to buy 50 hectares of land and restore it back to native forest) but to educate the world on just one of many problems happening around the globe, that may not reach our ears, eyes and hearts otherwise.  

When head buyer Simon Constantine discovered the impact that the sourcing of ingredients was having on the planet, he established a commitment to removing palm oil from all Lush products and rectifying the the damage that the company had done by using the ingredient up until that point.

This is why Orangutan Soap is both palm oil-free and made from extra virgin coconut oil - directly sourced from Nias, Sumatra. This limited edition is a celebration of how far Lush have come in creating sustainable and responsible sourcing across the globe, as well as raise money for an important, and possibly life-changing, project in Indonesia. 

Containing both patchouli and orange, this adorable looking soap is hand-carved and vividly orange. To the nose, I can smell the patchouli from the start. Unlike both Lord Of Misrule and Karma, there is nothing softening this component at all, so the soap gives off an exotic and rather spicy, green smell. While pine is not in the ingredients list, I can also detect a gentle homage to it, as the patchouli is rich, dark and slightly phosphorus. 

The orange is slightly on the bitter side as well, although this could just be the patchouli's impact overall. However, the citrus note is very dry and tangy to my senses - meaning that this soap offers a strong and perhaps very acquired smell. This is not one that would suit many other formats, and makes a huge impact overall: hopefully mimicking what the money made from this will do for the dwindling species.   

Firstly, this soap is incredibly generous with its lather - producing a very watery but equally cleaning 'foam' by which to clean your body with. In fact, you should probably not hold this soap anywhere near water for more than a second or two, because the soap will give you far more liquid than you could possibly use in a single shower. I should probably warn you that Orangutan will get very messy when in use - splattering orange residue all over your bathroom tiles and tub. Storage can also be a bit of a problem as the soap is hesitant to dry itself, and if left will fester in a puddle of its own mess, which will ultimately shrink the soap very quickly. 

Linking on to this, I will say that this soap has a very gentle consistency, so if you're going to use it, I would recommend cutting off small chunks and using it this way. As a whole, I found that the soap had shrunk by almost half within the first two weeks of using it, which makes it one of the quickest diminishing soaps I had had from Lush in a long time. Having said that, the aroma is potent enough that it will stay on the skin for a good while after exiting the shower - although I was expecting it to be even stronger than it ultimately turned out to be. 

As far as soaps go, it wasn't particularly moisturising for me, but then this is just my skin type and the way it usually reacts to most soaps. I did find that I had to moisture afterwards, and this meant that the fragrance didn't stay around for too much after this point. 

Ultimately, this soap is fantastic, despite how quickly it shrunk and how much moisture it seemed to remove from my skin. The money raised from each sale will go towards a much-deserved cause, and I just happen to receive a soap out of doing so. I will always support the company in their endeavours to educate their customers, and I have gained a lot more out of this release than just a soap.

Quantitative Ingredients: Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Patchouli Oil, Brazilian Orange Oil.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £8.25 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2017.