Review: Lush Willow Soap

So.... this is my bar of Willow soap from Lush. Hopefully your looks more like this;

See, when things like this get shipped over to Australia in the Summer..they don't always survive.

According to the lovely staff at Lush plaza the crates of Willow soap got left out in the sun  a little to long by their delivery guys, same thing as what happened with their original shipment of Emotional Brilliance stuff. Sounds like someone might want to look into this?

However it's somewhat hectic history does not stop my bar of Willow from being any less loved or any less lovely; it's certainly very different and not what you usually think of when someone says "Valentines".  

Here is the story that is apparently carved onto the soap block;

Once there was a wealthy Mandarin, who had a beautiful daughter (Koong-se). She had fallen in love with her father's humble accounting assistant (Chang), angering her father (it was inappropriate for them to marry due to their difference in social class). He dismissed the young man and built a high fence around his house to keep the lovers apart. The Mandarin was planning for his daughter to marry a powerful Duke. The Duke arrived by boat to claim his bride, bearing a box of jewels as a gift. The wedding was to take place on the day the blossom fell from the willow tree.

On the eve of the daughter's wedding to the Duke, the young accountant, disguised as a servant, slipped into the palace unnoticed. As the lovers escaped with the jewels, the alarm was raised. They ran over a bridge, chased by the Mandarin, whip in hand. They eventually escaped on the Duke's ship to the safety of a secluded island, where they lived happily for years. But one day, the Duke learned of their refuge. Hungry for revenge, he sent soldiers, who captured the lovers and put them to death. The Gods, moved by their plight, transformed the lovers into a pair of doves.

But I'm sure you are not here for the stories, you want to know what the soap is like right? Well it;s as different as the soap, yes it's awesome and yes it works but it is not your usual cup of...soap?

See it lathers really well, but not like a creamy soap, it lathers into something that feels almost like clay and the texture really reminds me of my beloved Fresh Farmacy (also from lush). It smells of lemon and roses, but not too strongly of either and they blend together into a very unique but pleasant scent. The scent is certainly not man friendly and my boyfriend loves it too, and its nice to see q Valentine release not covered in pink fluffy hearts.

Highly recommend this one as it's a limited release! I will certainly be going back for more!

Here are the ingredients for anyone interested; Propylene Glycol , Rapeseed Oil , Coconut Oil (Brassica napus; Cocos nucifera) , Kaolin , Water (Aqua) , Cornflour (Zea mays) , Talc , Fragrance , Sodium Stearate , Titanium Dioxide , Rose Absolute (Rosa damascena) , Rose Oil (Rosa damascena) , Sicilian Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum) , Rosewood Oil (Aniba rosaeodora) , Glycerine , Sodium Chloride , EDTA , Tetrasodium Etidronate , Sodium Hydroxide , Synthetic Fluorphlogopite , Geraniol , *Citronellol , *Linalool , *Limonene , Ferric Ferrocyanide