Cool Beans Shower Oil

As a teacher, I can sometimes be disheartened when I hear what I term 'sloppy language' being spoken in and around my classroom. I'll openly admit that I have a disliking for those who drop their letters or use words such as 'innit' and the like. Yet despite my slight snobbery, I understand that the beauty of language is that it evolves over time: new words are created and given meaning to, and phrases find themselves slotting into every day life and being shared globally.

When I first saw that this shower oil was called Cool Beans, it took me right back to high school, where I remembered it being an expression myself and my best friend would use to show our appreciation of absolutely everything. You fancy meeting up in the park after school? Cool beans! The new System Of A Down album is amazing! Cool Beans! etc...

A play on words, the name of this shower oil comes from the inclusion of both the whole black beans and the menthol crystals featured in the ingredients list. Both serve the purpose of offering something that not only moisturises your skin but massages your muscles at the same time. The black beans on the surface gently stimulate your body as you glide it across your skin, while the menthol crystals act as a refreshment for overworked and tired body parts.   

While it doesn't replicate the scent exactly, fans of Wiccy Magic Muscles Massage Bar and 93,000 Miles Shower Jelly may be interested to know that the scent of this is very similar. You can smell both the peppermint and the menthol crystals from the get-go - both of which work in unison to produce quite a clinical and very clean-smelling shower oil. The inclusion of the mint leaves also means that there is something very fresh about the mint fragrance in this product.  

Alongside these two key components there is also a green-like, herbal thread from the parsley, and a sweet floral note from the geranium. In all fairness, I was not expecting the scent of this to work particularly well because of how many different notes are going on here. Yet each of these components seem to  come together well and produce something very invigorating and refreshing. Much like the aforementioned products above, you do get a slight tingling sensation from the menthol crystals, although it's nowhere near as intense.

How to use a shower oil is down to personal preference, although I have tried a few variations and have discovered the way that works best for me. Much like a body butter, I tend to find that these beauties work better at the end of your shower/bath, when your skin is clean and ready to be moisturised.

Ensure your skin is damp and then step out of the way of the running water. Massage the bar gently, in a circular motion, across the areas of your body that you wish to moisturise. Try not to apply too much pressure as the shower oils are very generous, and I just feel that you'd coat your skin with too much oil and use up the block far quicker this way.

What you will find is that the shower oils will leave a light layer of oils on your skin, which you can then use you hands to massage even deeper into your skin. Unlike a body butter or a body conditioner, the oils are not at all greasy, nor do they feel at all heavy. Instead, it feels and looks as if you've applied a little baby oil to your skin.

As with Vertical Abhyanaga, this shower oil left my skin nourished and moisturised - enough to see me through the whole day. As I used it first thing in the morning, it also brought about a wonderful crisp feeling that made my skin feel really clean and ready to brace the cold, winter weather.

While it appears slightly thinner than the above shower oil, I found that I didn't need to apply much pressure to aid the distribution of the oils. This means that I can envisage Cool Beans lasting long enough to give me a good ten full body sessions, maybe even more. As to be expected, the shower oil also dried really quickly so I was able to store it safely without it making a mess of my shower.

Ultimately, this is yet another shower oil that I would purchase again, although I would probably use this as an after-workout or early morning 'perk me up'. The fragrance itself is not my favourite, but I feel it's more of a product that serves a purpose as opposed to bought for its scent. This is definitely a very cool new release from Lush.  

Quantitative Ingredients: Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Whole Black Beans, Morigina Oil, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sunflower Wax, Clove Bud Oil, Lemongrass Oil, English Peppermint Oil, Kenyan Geranium Oil, Gardenia Extract, Moringa Powder, Fresh Mint, Fresh Parsley, Menthol Crystals, Water, Propylene Glycol, Citral, Citronellol, Eugenol, Limonene, Linalool, Perfume, Chlorophyllin.

Vegan?: Yes.

2018 Price: £5.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2018.