I'm going to get all environmentally friendly on you for a minute or two, but I fell in love with these Body Shop Earth Lovers shower gels when I heard that they were Sulphate-, Paraben-, Colourant- and Soap-free. They are 100% biodegradable, and they come in 100% recycled plastic bottles.
Be still my beating (bleeding?) heart.
I think the chief concern a lot of people have when they hear about this stuff is how does that affect its performance, and how does that affect the price. Both are totally fair, of course, and I'll talk about both here.
These come in seven types- Lemon and Thyme, Watermelon and Eucalyptus, Cucumber and Mint, Apricot and Basil, Pear and Lemongrass, Fig and Rosemary and Unfragranced. I love they way they smell so much I bought five of the fragrances in the sale. Which brings me to the price...at a fiver each they are not cheap for shower gels, but I got mine for about £2 each which I think it not just reasonable, but cheap for a product of this quality with such solid environmental credentials.
I didn't think there was anything in them that made them worse shower gels than others with soap, parabens etc. They are quite liquidy, lather nicely, and leave a lovely lingering fragrance. They don't build clouds of soap bubbles which I actually prefer, and they also are very gentle. I found them quite non-drying. I don't really have very sensitive skin (aside from on my face) so I can't say if they would affect someone who does, but I did honestly find them very gentle.
I bought the first five listed above, and actually liked the Fig and Rosemary but had to draw the line somewhere. I didn't particularly want the Unfragranced because I like my shower and bath products to have some smell to them. Preferably nice :P It might be good for those whose skin is very sensitive and reactive though. The smells are really lovely- they're quite unusual combinations and they generally smell very much like what the label says. The Watermelon and Eucalyptus and the Apricot and Basil are quite sweet and fruity but not overpoweringly so (like the other Body Shop fruit shower gels almost inevitably are). The Lemon and Thyme has a nice citrus herbal scent to it. My favourites are the Cucumber and Mint- which smells AMAZING, very fresh and minty and invigorating and perfect for summer- and the Pear and Lemongrass, which doesn't smell as fruity as the first two but has a delicate pear and citrus scent.
I can't think of any other shower gels I've tried that are a dupe for these scents. I've started to find many of the mainstream products a bit cloying in their fruity sweetness lately and these Earth Lover scents smell quite sophisticated in comparison. I love the fruit-herb combination and these cheer me up when I use them in the shower, but mean I don't reek of strawberry jam for the rest of the day.
If you're looking to make your daily routine more environmentally friendly, I think something like this is a good idea. If you're looking for a gentle shower gel, this is a good idea. And if you're looking for high street shower gels with unusual lovely scents, this is a good idea!
And 100% biodegradable? I wish more companies would try to build a whole range around that type of formula.
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