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When I first became a fan of Lush, I was like a lot of people in that I got into the company because of their sweeter-smelling products. Snow Fairy was the 'worm on the hook' that lured me into the shop and enticed me into buying a rather candid selection of their most fruitiest offerings available. Years later, my tastebuds have matured somewhat and I am now able to appreciate some of the more obscure releases that make an appearance.
Devil's Nightcap Soap is a product that I would have turned my nose up at all those years ago - a strange, brown lump of clay and dirt that looks like it's been pulled straight from the earth. Yet for me, there's something rather beautiful about the stone-coloured design and the way that the dried oakmoss wraps itself around the outside.
With a high content of fullers earth, this product is super absorbent for the skin - cleansing pores of unwanted dirt and debris and removing excess oil that may have built itself up over time. The inclusion of this ingredient, alongside the coconut oil, means that your skin is left feeling really clean and smooth, and for those with slightly greasier skin, this soap will balance out your complexion and relieve the build up of unwanted oil. Featuring oakwood absolute near the top of the ingredients list, this soap has a deep, mossy note that smells very much like the chunk has been plucked from a forest floor after a rain shower. It's a rather damp, earthy smell but one that isn't as green or as malty smelling as the likes of Tramp.
The inclusion of orange flower absolute means that there is a lovely, albeit very subtle floral note that serves to lighten the overall aroma of the soap and give it a gentle sweetness, which is wonderful. By itself, the oakmoss would be very two-dimensional and rather bland to use, but instead Devil's Nightcap has a natural sweet note that brings all of the smells together and gives it a slightly uplifting element that makes it very enjoyable in the shower.
Much like Mud Flats, this soap isn't the easiest of soaps to lather up. I discovered that it produces more of an oily foam, which makes using it a little more challenging in the shower. In the same way that Lush's solid conditioners need water, this product needs to be kept wet in order for it to be utilised efficiently.
For this reason, I found that I had to keep the chunk I was using under the running water while lathering it over my body. This proved a little problematic after a few uses when I realised that the overabundance of water was shrinking my 100g piece a lot quicker than I would have expected with most soaps.Furthermore, due to the amount of earth that goes into making this soap, its consistency is not like a typical piece of soap. It's rather crumbly and not as sturdy - meaning that it tends to break up rather easily if you place too much pressure on it or use it too rigorously. Unfortunately, this meant that I ended up losing quite a bit down the plughole.
In its defence, the soap is very unique and completely different to everything else that is currently being offered at the Oxford Street Store. Those who enjoy their more natural scents will no doubt value this very highly. I for one, really liked the fact that it left me feeling really clean without leaving my skin parched or overly dried out like a lot of soaps tend to do.
Adding on to this, the inclusion of fullers earth gives Devil's Nightcap a slight grainy element to it so you get a very gentle exfoliation when you're lathering this across your skin.
However, it's consistency means that a 100g block will not last as long as other soaps - even if you make the effort to keep it dry in between uses. Additionally, it doesn't have the same richness that the perfume variation has so fans of this might find that they don't enjoy this as much as the liquid fragrance.
Vegan?: Yes.
2015 Price: £5.50 for 100g.
Year Of Original Release: 2015.
Scent Family:
Devil's Nightcap Liquid Perfume
Devil's Nightcap Soap
