little white truths

As you may know, this year I promised myself to start buying more items in bar or soap form - for the simple reason that I'm working to reduce our household use of plastics as much as possible going forward.

Hence I bought this bar in Priceline the other day, and I would have bought more from the range except that Ethique wasn't on special and I want to wait for a big sale before I load up. While its products aren't expensive, they're not cheap either so I'd prefer to wait for sales.

As you may know, I tried an Ethique body scrub bar a while ago and absolutely loved that (I've reviewed it here) so I've wanted to try more from the range for ages.

While I do like this product (especially the smell), it's not perfect and I'm finding that it's not lasting as long as I would like - nor is it as effective as I would like. More on that below.

• Need some pampering? Our créme bodywash bar is designed specifically for those of you with sensitive skin, or those who just want a super hydrating body wash
• Produces a creamy, low bubble lather and contains loads of creamed coconut butter plus a little clay to get you clean without drying you out
• Offers a boost of moisture and nourishment to those of us with dry or sensitive skin - ideal for the drying winter months
• Sweetly scented with orange and vanilla essential oils
• Made in NZ; certified carbon neutral company; 100% biodegradable; compostable packaging
• Palm oil free; gluten free; certified cruelty free and vegan
• RRP $19.95 AUD for 110g, but do wait for specials

The below is taken from Ethique's website:

Our story

We’re on a mission to rid the world of plastic waste and we want you to be a part of it.

We started our revolution in 2012 when founder, Brianne West, began making natural beauty bars, in her science degree lab, as an alternative to the 80 billion plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles thrown out globally each year. 

Since then, Ethique (which is French for ethical) has grown out of a Kiwi kitchen into a fully fledged, award-winning international beauty brand. We’re conquering the beauty world one bar at a time. 

To date we have stopped over 3.3 million plastic bottles from being made & disposed of into landfills - and that's just the start of it... 

Sounds good to me! From now on I'll be buying up on various items whenever there's a sale, since we don't have enough cash lying around to buy them at full price - especially because the two Ethique items I've tried have a tendency to vanish rather quickly.

Verdict

This is a really lovely product and I enjoy the experience of using it, but it's not super effective and I don't feel it cleans my skin that well, so it's not one I would recommend if you need something that really gets in there and washes your skin.

It's an orange cube of soap that indeed smells of orange and vanilla, and it's a scent I'm really enjoying because it's sweet, rich and wonderful.

The product itself doesn't lather at all, so don't expect it to because you may wonder how well it's cleaning, and I do think the absence of any lather affects how well I feel it's cleaning my skin. Note, though, that I've also noticed that my skin doesn't feel refreshed after use - so I wouldn't buy this for its cleansing prowess alone because it likely won't cut the mustard.

Another thing to note is that it melts very quickly so it's not lasting me that long. I had the same issue with the scrub, and with that I used to pinch a little off (it's soft enough that you can do this) and apply it to my skin with my hands. So you can try this trick to make it last longer, although I still feel that I'm getting through it too quickly.

Note that although this isn't super effective, what sets it apart for me is that it's an absolute pleasure to use. Something about the smell and feel of it against my skin - it seems to melt like butter - is super luxurious and I look forward to using it. It also doesn't dry my skin out but instead hydrates it, so if like me you have dry skin, then this may be one to try.

Overall I think this product is lovely to use and it smells absolutely divine, but it's not a great cleanser and it also melts very quickly so that's something to keep in mind. Still, it does do something and it's a good hydrator, so it's not without effect and it does offer some positive results.

Gorgeous but not perfect.