Review of Lush the Olive Branch Shower Gel

I love showers, and I love baths. I'm constantly seeking out new shower gels to try, and new bath products. Lush has always been a secret pleasure of mine, and I am very close to nearly trying everything their Lush site has to offer. However I have never taken the plunge into their shower gels, simply because the prices are ridiculous. A 3.3 ounce bottle of The Olive Branch is approximately $8.50, an 8.4 ounce bottle comes to $15.95 and the larger 16.9 ounce bottle comes to a jaw dropping $24.95.
I was not impressed by either of the price options. I knew a 3.3 ounce bottle would barely last me a week, and the 8.4 ounce bottle was way too much money compared to what I am used to.
Lush also barely describes this shower gels scent, and that pissed me off. All they had to say about this shower gel was "The olive branch has been a symbol of peace for millennia; our gel has 3% organic olive oil from two sources: an olive grove formerly owned by the Sicilian Mafia and now run as a co-operative by former homeless drug addicts and a Palestinian-Israeli joint venture run by women on land in occupied territories which was being wasted as a result of the conflict. Marco di Gregorio from Lush in Italy sourced these for us and he said, "We no longer have a choice in politics. The only place we have a choice is when we go shopping."
Okay, so what the hell does it smell like?
I found my bottle of The Olive Branch in a New York City shop. My first time in a shop, and man was it exciting. I could actually smell the store before I got there, but anyways, I'm not here to tell you about the store, I'm here to tell you about the gel.
I first noticed the shower gels all lined up, and seeing how I have never bought or even tried a shower gel now would be the perfect time to get a sniff of them all and take home whatever one I liked best. Oddly enough The Olive Branch seemed to really tickle my fancy, and on the Lush site, this probably would have been the last shower gel I tried, if at all. I hate olives, and I imagined that this is exactly what this shower gel would smell like.
Packaged:
The Olive Branch, as stated above comes in 3 different sized bottles, each bottle looks identical only smaller or larger than the next. The bottle itself is plastic and has a click up cap. The label is the same unique Lush labeling almost all of their products have. The slanted italics label in black and white reads The Olive Branch. Also for the first time in my Lush purchasing life there was an expiration sticker which read when the bottle would expire. Once the gel is expired you must throw it out.
Lush uses foods such as fruit and vegetables, so it would be pretty nasty to be rubbing expired food onto your body.
The gel is orange, but when they are lined up, it is separated with olive oil that floated to the top and the soapy gel at the bottom. Once you shake it for a few minutes the 2 combine and create a lighter orange color. I was a little hesitant about the olive oil, and I thought that it would perhaps leave me with pimples on my body. Once I got a whiff of the scent though, all worries were pushed aside. I had to have it.
Scent:
It's a manly scent to be honest, but I liked it, and that is all that mattered. It reminded me of the woods, and the ocean mixed in one. A dirty manly man, with a cool breeze scent. It reminded me of Cool Water.
It was a scent I knew I would like, and my boyfriend could also use. Unisex!
Use:
Olive Branch was not the only goodie I brought home with me that fine day, but it was one of the first products I tried simply because I never had used a Lush shower gel before, and I was more than excited to give it a go.
In the shower I applied a few drops of The Olive Branch onto my bath loofah. The gel was a bit runny but easy to control, so I am not complaining too much. I'm just saying it could have been a wee bit thicker.
Anyways, the scent hit me, and filled the room with the cool water scent as I began rubbing it all over. The lather was thick, but not as thick as I would have expected. It was nice, but I have had better with much cheaper products.
The gel washed off easily and left no oily or greasy residue behind. I was imagining feeling like a grease pit while drying off, but it actually left my skin rather nice, and clean feeling. The scent also lingered as I began to dry off, and I hoped it would stick around for a few hours so I could enjoy it even more.
Hours went by, and I could still smell The Olive Branch all around me, it was much lighter, but just enough that only I could enjoy it without bothering those around me with it's unique scent.
Availability:
You can purchase The Olive Branch in any local Lush store, or online at www.Lush.com. Prices remain the same.
Overall:
The Olive Branch is a sure purchase for me again and again. I just wish I could get up to the city more often.
Ingredients:
Vine leaf infusion, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium cocoamphoacetate, fresh mandarin juice, olive oil, perfume, bergamot oil, lemon oil, orange flower absolute, mandarin oil, sea salt, gardenia extract, D&C red no. 33, methylparaben, propylparaben.