Desert Date Shower Scrub

One of the most exciting aspects about Lush bringing out new products is scanning through the ingredients list and seeing what new and unique combinations they have created. Often the company can go months, sometimes years, using the same components, just in different orders. Their inclusion of ylang ylang or rose absolute for example, is beyond ridiculous. However, there are occasions (especially over the last twelve months) where products come out with very compelling ingredients, and it excites me to be able to go away and research the purpose and the benefits of such an inclusion.

When I was first gifted with a Desert Date Shower Scrub, I was not only intrigued and impressed with its very beautiful and rather unique design, but also because it appeared to have been made using a brand new blend of ideas. Featuring both dried dates and date stones, these two ingredients aren't found very often in other Lush products, and it led me to research the benefits of both. 

What I found was that aside from being great when ingested into the body, dates are also loaded with many vitamins that help to repair and maintain healthy skin, while also fighting the signs of anti-aging. The nutrients featured in dates help to bring about a naturally youthful glow to the skin, and can nourish the skin to leave it looking plump and radiant. While I am not 100% certain, I assume that the date stones have been blended down to give the scrub its coarse-like properties - which is great because the whole fruit is being used here and nothing is going to waste.

Another ingredient that interested me here was balanites oil, which is what gives Desert Date its lovely smell. Extracted from the seeds of the fruit-bearing tree, balanites offers a very dry, earthy aroma. Coupled with the woodiness of the sandalwood, this scrub is not at all sweet, and not particularly floral either. Imagine the likes of Tramp Shower Gel, without the spiciness of the patchouli, and with perhaps the subtlest mention of jasmine absolute to elevate the earthiness somewhat, and you may begin to get a picture of how this smells.

It is definitely not a very complex smell: in fact, some people may even describe  it as being very basic in nature. However, I really appreciate the simplicity of the fragrance and how natural it smells to me. It's something very different from any scrubs that have come before it, and that makes it interesting to me.

When I first used this, I found that it was a little stubborn to produce any 'scrub' and had to massage it in a circular motion for a short while before it begansto stimulate my skin. However, once it began to work, I found that it was easy to glide across my body and exfoliate the areas that needed extra buffing. 

What is great about Desert Date is that, as long as you don't expose it to too much water, you can massage your entire body and barely dent the size of the scrub. With some of Lush's scrubs, I have found that they can either disintegrate within 2-3 uses, or they're not very exfoliating at all. This limited edition would easily last you at least ten uses, and it's perfect at scrubbing the skin without being too soft or too hard. 

While I enjoy Lush's more coarser variations, this one was certainly not a softy. This will buffer your body without scratching or irritating your skin, and you can apply as much or as little pressure to chose the strength of your exfoliation. The strength of the bar will also mean that this wont break apart when you're using it, and it dries really quickly so you can store it in-between uses without worrying about it shrinking. Furthermore, the earthy aroma lingered around for a short time on my skin, which allowed me to feel even more relaxed once I had left the bath.

Despite the price of this being a little higher than I would be willing to pay, this is one that I would definitely buy again, if it was made available as a regular product. Its unique fragrance sets it apart from other Lush scrubs and the number of uses you can get out of this is definitely part of the reason behind the price tag.      

Quantitative Igredients: Fine Sea Salt, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Illipe Butter, Sodium Bicarbonate, Balanites Oil, Date Stones, Sodium Coco Sulphate, Cream Of Tartar, Dried Dates, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Jasmine Absolute, Rose Absolute, Sandalwood Oil, Alpha-Isomethyl ionone, Benzyl Benzoate, Citronellol, Hydroxycitronellal, Isoeugenol, Limonene, Linalool, Perfume, Chlorophyllin. 

Vegan?: Yes.

2018 Price: £7.50 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2018.