Review: Lush Sugar Scrub

This is another product I got to try out as part of the Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes box I purchased from Lush recently. A sugar scrub formed into a solid dome, it's meant to be used in the shower - instead of grabbing a handful of a paste textured product, you simply rub the dome over the skin.

First and foremost, this is a rather strongly scented product. Lush say that it has fennel, ginger and lavendar in it, but all I can smell when I first apply the bar to wet skin is fennel. Did I mention that I intensely dislike aniseed, both the smell and the taste, and anything related to it? So this really fails on fragrance for me at the first hurdle. If you actually like fennel, you might like it more.

The second rather massive problem with this is the format. Yes, in theory it's nice to be able to rub a solid over the skin rather than scooping out product from a tub, but the problem comes after you've used it for the first time. I placed mine on the side of my bathtub (I chose a dry spot for it), and went away. An hour later, I noticed a stream of green dissolved scrub making its way down into the bath, which I promptly wiped up. I then picked up the scrub bar, intending to make sure it didn't leak any more. Big mistake; it dissolved into a pile of green, sugary mush, which I had to wash away due to the lack of a handy container.

As a scrub, it's a pretty intense one due to the sugar content - if you rub too hard, it does hurt. I also found that my skin had that strange burny feeling for a while after use, which I usually get from products with menthol oil in them, so possibly the fennel content isn't suitable for sensitive skin. All in all, not one I'd purchase - impractically packaged, and VERY strongly scented, I think there are far nicer scrubs on the market.

If you'd like to try it for yourself, it costs £2.60 for 100g at Lush stores or on their website.