Sometimes I get the impression that Lush put a great deal of effort into their releases; other times it seems almost as if they’ve not thought things through. When it comes to Snowcloud Soap, this beautiful little seasonal special is sure to be overlooked, when up against the likes of the stunning Golden Pear Soap, and the classic Baked Alaska, that is so potent in smell and colour. However, those that do venture into trying this soap out to size, will hopefully appreciate just how lovely the soap actually is.
Shaped like a cloud and sporting a rather dull-looking white/grey design, Snowcloud offers a sweet and slightly fruity floral fragrance. Sharing its scent with the non-vegan Orange Blossom Liquid Perfume, I was extremely happy that I was finally able to enjoy this scent, although I would obviously have preferred it if I had a better format in which to do it with. While I was able to briefly appreciate it when I used Elbow Grease for the first time, my guilt at discovering it wasn’t vegan was enough to turn my experience bitter very quickly.Made from a collaboration of rosewood, ylang ylang, orange flower, sandalwood and neroli, this soap sounded on paper like it was going to offer a very heavy fragrance. Yet, Lush have managed to balance out these components so that you experience something rich and robust; yet something that is also beautifully delicate and feminine.
The rosewood, ylang ylang and orange flower create a dry, musky and very floral base for this soap - yet one that isn’t particularly heavy on the senses. I think the inclusion of the sandalwood helps these floral notes from being too aggressive, as there is a very subtle wordiness that rounds all four components off perfectly. Alongside this, the inclusion of the neroli adds a delicate sprinkling of citrus, which adds a slight bitterness, but helps to make the aroma slightly refreshing as well.
As with all of Lush’s gourmet soaps, this one features a base of cocoa butter - which means that it is a little more moisturising than their usual soaps. As with most of the seasonal range, I did find that this one was created a thick, slightly oily lather to clean myself with, and there was an abundance of it to use so I didn’t keep having to hold this under the shower to stimulate the ‘foam’. In fact, I would highly recommend that you keep this away from the running water as much as you can, as this soap shrunk really quickly for me, and definitely doesn’t work out good value for money when it’s dissolved away into nothing after only two weeks.What sets this soap apart from the other seasonal releases, is that this one also features kaolin - an ingredient known for absorbing excess moisture, cleaning out pores and softening the skin. I found that Snowcloud was great to use on my hands after a day out in the freezing cold. Using this straight away helped to elevate the redness and soften my skin at the same time. Having said that, I wouldn’t only use this soap as a hand wash, as it does leave its scent on your skin afterwards, and it seems like a bit of a waste to use it on only one body part.
Ultimately, Snowcloud is definitely a soap that most likely got overlooked in favour of some of the more vibrant-looking variations - which is a shame given how much this soap offers. I actually really enjoyed using my single piece of this, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this appeared at some point in the near future.
Quantitative Ingredients: Propylene Glycol, Marshmallow Root Decoction (Althaea Officinalis) (Althaea Officinalis Root Extract), Kaolin, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera), Water (Aqua), Organic Castor Oil (Ricinus communis), Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance, Talc, Glycerine, Titanium Dioxide, Neroli Oil (Citrus Aurantium amara), Orange Flower Absolute (Citrus Aurantium amara) (Citrus Aurantium Amara (Orange) Flower Water) Rosewood Oil (Aniba rosaeodora), Sandalwood Oil (Fusanus spicatus), Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Citric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, *Linalool, *Limonene, *Hydroxycitronellal, Benzyl Benzoate, Geraniol, Blue 1, Red 4, Red 33.
Vegan?: Yes.
2017 Price: £4.75 for 100g.
Year Of Original Release: 2017.
Scent Family:
Elbow Grease Moisturising Bar
Mandarin's Tea Party Soap
Orange Blossom Candle
Orange Blossom Liquid Perfume (non vegan)
