... Indeed, this means that while you can indeed buy some handwashes for about 50 p a bottle or less, the cost of this product includes the expense of obtaining the raw materials, and not merely to line Imperial Leather's pockets. In my mind, this is something worth paying for.
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(+) An indulgent product, smells nice, creates bubbles, relaxes and is economical and a good price. (-) Contains too many ingredients, not many natural ones.
Advantages: lightly moisturising without residue, actual plant products used, economical. Disadvantages: if you have dry skin, you need to still moisturise after or use a different product
...can indeed buy some handwashes for about 50 p a bottle or less, the cost of this product includes the expense of obtaining the raw materials, and not merely to line Imperial Leather's pockets. In my mind, this is something worth paying for.
As a family of four, we end up washing our hands quite a bit between us. I have to admit I have been a bit of a fanatic aboout teaching my children proper hygiene, so in addition to the usual wash after using the toilet and before handling food routine, it means a handwash everytime you wipe your nose even once, before handing books or cds or dvds, and before I put on any make up or insert my contact lenses, etc. Now, when I was a child, washing one's hands involved using a bar of soap, and I admit for quite some time, this is what we used at home. This worked fine for us for quite a few years, as my children quickly mastered the technique of making sure the bar of soap was not covered in filth nor soggy before placing it back in the soap dish.
The trouble struck from down the street. While my two understood the proper way to use bar soap, their little friends who began to come and spend their afternoons and week ends over here obviously did not. Used to soap dispensers in public loos and fancy scented hand gels and all manner of frou frou delights they shared information on, I began to despair as I found soap that had been sogged up and placed in back in the soap dish to bond into one dirty hardened mess. It was obvious that a change was needed. Either I had to change the hand soap, or the neighbour children needed to be disposed of.
Pondering the reign of peace and quiet the last would create, I had to abandon that notion quickly as it involved activity that would likely result in me being arrested. The much easier, cheaper, socially acceptable, and above all, legal option it was then: I changed to liquid hand soap. Understanding that some children were going to swim in the stuff, and that frequent handwashing meant possibly dry skin, I looked about for a recognisable name I could trust, eyed up prices, and looked at moisture content. This popped up on my radar one fateful evening while browsing via My Supermarket, and at £1, I thought it would be well worth a try.
The family's first impressions were excellent. The children were for some reason pleased to have soap in a pump, and when they read it was Japanese Spa, they promptly announced it was the best in the world and whisked it away. All this before ever washing their hands with it. I was not so easily pleased. I wanted to actually use it before deciding it was fantastic, Japanese Spa or not. My first test was using it to wash my hands before putting the rest of the Tesco delivery away. After putting away all the packaged goods, it was back to the basin and a repeat handwash before dividing up packs of meat. A hand wash between each package of meat, and I had a pretty fair idea of how moisturising this this soap was, and truthfully, over the past 5 months it has not let us down.
The liquid soap itself is nice and thick, so a simple single push of the pump dispenses a viscous, creamy mixture that lathers up quite well without any runny waste or over foaming. It rinsed off cleanly, leaving a pleasant scent that indeed spoke of the green tea and jasmine contained within. The rice milk protein was also evident as my hands did not chap after so many repeat washings in a row, but neither were they greasy. As my family and I continued to use it, I was quite pleased, as in the past with moisturising hand soaps I often had to rinse my hands for several minutes or the lotion residue would depsoit onto my contact lenses, which not only stings, but makes the vision a bit blurry! Not to mention doing this is a huge waste of water resources!
I have skin that tends to be a bit on the drier end of normal. That is, not dry enough to need deep moisturising, but dry enough that not using any makes my skin rather thirsty and requiring lotions being applied. This particular hand soap has fit into my personal needs perfectly, so I now keep at least two bottles in the cupboard and one bottle at each sink. The children, including the invading hordes, have found it simple to use and due to its rich texture, have not wasted any by pumping vigourously to get out half the bottle in order to wash, nor have I had any messy soapy detritus about the sink. Even with all of our hand washing, a single botle in the bathroom lasts us just over amonth, and my children are home all day, every day.
While pleased with the over all results, I do have one further thing to mention. All too often one buys low cost products with plant and essences floating their names about on the label while the reality is that the product only contains chemical approximations of the scents associated with these. The label on this clearly states that that it is Japanese Spa, with rice milk, green tea, and jasmine. In this case, you are not being led down the proverbial garden path, as a look at the ingredients list shows all the usual stuff you find they use to make liquid soap, and... (surprise!) actual green tea, rice milk, and jasmine. It is nice to know that at least some of what we are using is indeed natural, and that we are reaping the benefits associated with these. Green tea is a natural antioxidant, so it helps nourish the skin and gently remove dead skin cells, rice milk is soothing and calming, and jasmine oil is renowned for relieving stress and aiding in dispelling depression. It might not seem a big deal to some folks that a budget brand has indeed used the real thing, but let's put this into perspective. Aside from the integrity points for having the real thing, there is the cost. Jasmine oil is extremely expensive! It takes roughly 1000 pounds in weight of jasmine blossoms to make 1 lb in weight of jasmine oil. Indeed, this means that while you can indeed buy some handwashes for about 50 p a bottle or less, the cost of this product includes the expense of obtaining the raw materials, and not merely to line Imperial Leather's pockets. In my mind, this is something worth paying for.
Advantages: indulgent alternative to everyday soap, appealing fragrance Disadvantages: slightly drying on the hands - could be too much for sensitive skin
...So we chose two different Imperial Leather ones and this is the remaining one. The bottle looks quite eye-catching - I would definitely say it looked more feminine than masculine. Topped with the red ribbon Imperial Leather logo, the words "Japanese Spa" are printed entirely in lower case plum-purple letters and underneath a cropped, graphic-looking floral shape in pink and pale green is finished off with simple flower shapes and a figure that looks ... ...so it does contain what Imperial Leather say it does, even if these things are hidden amongst a list of chemical-based cleansers and foamers! The back label also informs me that it's completely soap free, "mild enough for the whole family", dermatologically tested and has a skin friendly pH which seems to match up with my impressions of the product - nobody in our house has any major skin allergies, however, and I suppose all soaps are going to meet ...
KateHurst 14.09.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Imperial Leather Japanese Spa Handwash
Advantages: Good smell Disadvantages: Dries out my hands
...I have since seen Imperial Leather Handwashes in Asda for just £1 so not too much of a bargain for me!!
The bottle is transparent plastic so that you can see how much is left and when to replenish. It looks fine on the sink, no need to purchase a soap dispenser which I have used when I have opted for much cheaper products to pretend that I haven't! The packaging is simple and understated which is fine by me! The top of the bottle has a white opaque ... ...you have one!
₪₪₪ Imperial Leather hand washes ₪₪₪
~ Kind and caring gentle ~ Soothing
~ Comforting
~ Moisture
~Hand and face gentle wash
~ Vanilla orchid and rice milk
~ Green tea and kaffir lime
₪₪₪ Final Thoughts ₪₪₪
Advantages ~ A lovely smell
~ Good lather
~ Much more attractive than a bar of soap on your sink, cleaner & tidier
~ Reasonable price with the BOGOF ...
neenn 02.05.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Imperial Leather Japanese Spa Handwash
Advantages: Looks nice, attractive bottle Disadvantages: Dries hands and expensive
...bought which was blue.
Imperial Leather
My parents used Imperial Leather soap, and I continued to buy it after I was married, admittedly the little pieces of foil paper annoyed me, but otherwise I loved the smell.
The story goes that a Russian nobleman commissioned a brand of perfume way back in 1768, then in 1921 the London firm which made the perfume was bought by Cussons and later in the 1930's the original perfume was used in Imperial Leather ... ...hand wash products made by Imperial leather, but this is a Limited edition and sounds quite luxurious, as it says indulge yourself in a traditional eastern blend of green tea, rice milk and Jasmine to help cleanse your hands leaving them beautifully clean and soft. Plus you can transform the daily hand cleansing into an equisite ritual. It hasa skin friendly pH, mild enough for all the family, dermatologically tested and 100% soap free. This bottle ...
jo145 07.01.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Imperial Leather Japanese Spa Handwash
Advantages: Good value, nice scent, doesn't dry skin much. Disadvantages: Can't close pump
I bought this after seeing it on special offer in my local supermarket (buy one get one free).
I had already used the shower gel with the same fragrance and liked it so I thought I'd pick up the handwash.
The packaging, as you can see from the picture, is fairly attractive. It's translucent so you can see how much product you have left. The pump is a fairly standard affair, it doesn't have an option to close it which could make it tricky if you ... ...you. I think you have to try and screw the pump all the way down but whenever I've tried this I end up wasting lots of product.
The wash itself is a creamy colour and a thick consistancy. I started off only using half a pump's worth but have sinced upped this to a whole pump because I find my hands need a bit extra moisturising. This amount worked for me and it foams up really well. I was surprised as other hand wash I have used sometimes requires ...
BananaNoodle 08.07.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Imperial Leather Japanese Spa Handwash
