Strawberries & Clean Toothpaste Jelly

It is my belief that adults are simply children in bigger bodies, carrying around many more responsibilities and merely pretending we have a clue about what's going on in the world. I don't for one second think that any of us truly 'grow up, and neither do I believe that many of us really want to anyway. So products such as this latest toothpaste jelly will always appeal to the children inside of us, and Lush know this only too well.

One of ten brand new innovative toothpaste jellies that Lush have recently created, Strawberries & Clean is for those with a super sweet tooth. If, like myself, you're fairly well versed in the impressive array of different flavours featured in Lush's oral range, you'll find the transition into using this one fairly straight forward. However, if you're someone who has been instilled with the idea that a tooth paste needs to be mint-flavoured, you may find using this one a bit of a shock. 

What I first loved about Strawberries & Clean is that this is one of only two translucent variations, and seems to be the only toothpaste jelly that features a little lustre in the product design. With its playful shade of red, this toothpaste jelly really replicates that of a gummy sweet, which only makes the experience even yummier in your mouth. Please don't be put off by the lustre however, there won't be any evidence left of this inside of your mouth afterwards.

Containing vanilla, lime, jasmine and rosewood oils, this jelly has a bright, fruity and very playful fragrance. The inclusion of the strawberry extract is, alongside the lime oil, definitely the key note to both the smell and taste of this product. The jasmine absolute sits very mildly at the back of the smell, and along with the vanilla, simply pads out the aroma a little more. 

In fact, without trying to diminish how much I enjoyed using this product, I will say that Strawberries & Clean has a very boring, generic smell. Given the unique fragrances that Lush are known for, the smell of this jelly pales in comparison, and to be fair it wouldn't be seen as strange to find similar smells within other brand's products. Having said all of that, this product is primarily a toothpaste and so isn't looking to win any awards for the complexity of its scent.

As soon as I began to brush, I was able to recognise the sweet and fruity strawberry taste within my mouth and around my teeth, although it wasn't particularly strong at the start or finish of my experience, and as I mentioned above, it was rather a simplistic taste. When in my mouth, this toothpaste jelly reminded me very much of the limited edition strawberry Wrigley's chewing gum that came out in the UK last year, for anybody that may have tried it themselves and can recognise the comparison.

The idea with all of these new tooth jellies is that you simply scoop your toothbrush across the top of the surface of the product and a small amount (or however much you wish to use) will rub off onto the bristles, and this is what you use to brush your teeth with. With all ten of these new jellies, I found that it was very easy to apply only the smallest of amount to my brush: I barely dented the surface at all to begin with, so these little 60g pots will last you a very long time. In fact, I would even say that they may outlast that of a regular-sized 200g tube of toothpaste.

Once I began brushing, I found that it 'lathered up' exactly like a regular toothpaste and at no point did I feel or experience any jelly pieces still in my mouth. The product dissolved very quickly and then worked exactly as you would hope a tooth paste would do so. Furthermore, I was able to spit the paste out multiple times and never once ran out of foam on my toothbrush. These jellies are super generous when it comes to how much foam they produce in your mouth, despite how little product you need to use. Whereas I would normally use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste, I was able to use a piece the size of a grain of rice and yet heed the same results.

What I would say is that as the product is self preserving, it's important to keep your toothbrush fairly dry when you run it across the product. Adding moisture of any kind to these naked cosmetics could reduce the shelf life of the jelly and may open up the possibility of bacteria multiplying over time. For this reason, it's also essential that the lid is left on so as not to attract any unwanted germs. Given that I can imagine one of these pots lasting me a good 3-4 months as a minimum, I certainly wouldn't want the paste exposed to any bacteria, if I can help it.

Once I had finished brushing my teeth, I was a little disappointed that I wasn't able to detect much more than just a mild taste of Strawberries & Clean. This is definitely a toothpaste for those who plan to eat pretty soon afterwards, as the smell and taste of this one doesn't last particularly long in your mouth. Having said that, my teeth did feel squeaky clean (which I think was thanks to the inclusion of the lime oil) and there was no trace of any food smells afterwards as well.

As I will say in all of my toothpaste jelly reviews, it was nice not to have to worry about any annoying lumps that some of Lush's toothy tabs can leave in your mouth during brushing. This little gem simply dissolved as soon as I started brushing and there wasn't any wastage from bits getting stuck in my teeth or falling out when I spat into the sink.

As with most of Lush's new toothpaste jellies, this one contains many key ingredients to actually help this product to act like a toothpaste. Hydrated silica works well as a whitening and teeth cleaning agent: helping to remove the stains from the surface of your teeth without damaging the enamel. Then there is xylitol, which is a natural sweetener that doesn't contain any fructose, so will help to protect your teeth from damage, and will hopefully help to reduce your risk of cavities over time.

While probably one of my least favourite variations of toothpaste jelly, this is for those who want to feel rebellious brushing their teeth with 'sweets', and for those who want a lighter, less potent tasting toothpaste. Strawberries & Clean definitely appealed to the children in me and I will continue to use this tub until it has been finished. However, there are many more interesting and also stronger variations that I would ultimately choose over using this one.

Quantitative Ingredients: Vanilla Pod Infusion (Vanilla planifolia), Sorbitol, Glycerine, Silica, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Xylitol, Lime Oil (Citrus aurantifolia), Jasmine Absolute (Jasminum grandiflorum), Rosewood Oil (Aniba rosaeodora), Strawberry Extract (Fragaria ananassa), Stevia (Stevia Rebaudiana), Agar Agar (Gelidium cartilagineum), Carrageenan Extract (Chondrus crispus), Menthol Crystals (Menthol), Titanium Dioxide, Tin Oxide, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Citral, *Limonene, *Linalool, Flavour, Colour 77491, Colour 45430:1.

Vegan?: Yes. 

2019 Price: £ each.

Year Of Original Release: 2019.