Lush Ocean Salt > Reviews (25)

Intro

Lush Ocean Salt is a cleanser/exfoliating scrub. It's classed as a facial scrub but to be honest I see no reason why not to use it else where on my body as it does such a good job at exfoliating, in fact I personally think this could be a little harsh for alot of people and can't imagine alot of people would want to use it on there face - it does a great job at exfoliating my upper arms, my legs and even my neck, so if you read this review and don't like the sound of it remember it is not strictly a facial scrub. I paid £12.50 for a 250 gram pot which is much more then I would usually pay for a face scrub but I am a big fan of Lush and know first hand how good there products are so this is another Lush product I will be buying myself as a treat once in a while. There is also a smaller, 120 gram pot which is £6.75 so this is a better option for anyone who is unsure of whether they will like it/want to test if it's suitable for them.

Packaging

The face scrub comes in the usual black Lush pot which is a sturdy plastic and is recycable. It has the product name and a brief description on both the lid and the front of the tub in white writing, along with the Lush logo. The ingredients is included on the lid which like all Lush products is 100% natural. On the back of the tub is a sticker with a picture of the Employee who made your tub of face scrub along with the date it was made and the use by date. The use by date on mine is one year from the date it was made. On the front of the tub it reads 'We take the lime and the coconut and grapefruit and sea salt and mix them up together in our stimulating, fruity, vodka based face scrub for a complexion that glows.' It sounds like a margarita (but with vodka instead of tequila).This attracted me to it because it is quite different to the other Lush smells and flavours - i'm not aware of many alchohol type products in the Lush range, most are fruity or chocolatey. This is obviously is still quite fruity though due to containing fresh lime, fresh grapefruit, coconut butter etc.

Physical Appearence

Once the product is open it looks like a creamy, gooey white mixture with an aqua blue layer of salt crystals on the surface. It looked quite hard at first, which is why I mixed the two together to make it more creamy. It did require quite a good mix until it was merged together. I used a spoon to mix mine which I washed thoroughly afterwards. Once the mixture was merged together it was a pale milky turquois/blue colour. It does not look as grainy in texture once it's been mixed in the pot but once you get a bit out of the pot and onto your hand you realise just how big the salt crystals are. Most are quite fine, but the bigger ones can actually be quite painful and scratch the skin.

Smell

Smell wise, it's lovely. It smells very strong (on the verge of been overpowering). It reminds me a bit of shaving cream mixed with lime and other exotic citrussy smelling fruit and like I said before smells like margaritas.

I found it smelt too strong to immedietly apply to my face, I allowed myself to get used to the smell before I used it. I would prefer it to smell much more milder - it would be much more enjoyable to use! I would say the smell is unisex, however the fruity scent is quite apparent and isn't excactly a manly fruity smell, more an ovelly sweet fruit smell, so this may put alot of men of.

My Experience

The application is simple. I applied mine when I was in the bath for minimal mess (I was unsure at first if the grains of salt would full off or not). Before application I made sure my face was clean of any makeup and I wiped it with a flannel soaked in warm water to open my pores so that the product could be absorbed easily. I then scooped out a generous (but not TOO generous!) amount of the gooey mixture and applied it onto my face evenly. I made sure that I didn't apply too much as at £12 a pop I want the tub to last as long as possible, however saying that, a little does go a long way so you do get your moneys worth and seeing as the use by date is not until another year on mine I think i'll get atleast a dozen uses out of it, likely more.

It did feel very rough despite how gentle I was, and the larger particles of salt felt quite scratchy and unplesant, this made my skin sting quite along and tingle however I think this is what it's supposed to do so I carried on. Once I had applied a thin layer I felt a sort of 'cooling' feel on my face. I left it on for a couple of minutes to allow it to sink in. Most of the salt did dissolve but the bigger bits I had to wash off (some did fall off though). I did get a bit on my lips, and out of habit I licked them. Big mistake! It tastes vile, so i'd advise strongly against tasting it despite how good it smells!

It washed off extremely easily and once off it left my face feeling soft, smooth and refreshed, my face was red for around 10 minutes after I used it but it wasn't itchy or painful. I did feel like my face felt a little dried out for around 20 minutes or so after washing it off - this definetly is not a moisturising scrub which you will of probably already of guessed but I thought I would clarify this and due to this I do not personally use mine more than 2 times a week to avoid it drying my skin out, however I do apply a small amount to spots whenever I have one and I find it does a really good job in drying them up quickly. The overall result of this scrub was good. It left my skin free of dead skin cells and also cleared up a few blackheads on my nose after around 2 uses. I felt my face looked much more 'fresh' and radiant and it felt noticeably smoother.

Overall

I wouldn't go as far as saying this is better than my other exfoliators - to be honest it is around the same strength and achieves the same look and feel but is more painful. Although it does scratch and burn a little though the overall effect is worth it and the smell makes it quite a fun product to use rather than the usual smelling exfoliators, plus it is 100% natural ingredients and unlike alot of other face scrubs none of the ingredients have been tested on animals.

I like this but because of the large salt crystals been quite painful it is not one I would highly reccomend, especially if, like me, you have dry skin as that seems to make it hurt more. No it's not agony, but it's not great when you're trying to relax. For the smell though and the novelty type of feel the product has, as well as the great effect it has on my skin, i'll give it 3 out of 5 stars - the price, harshness and strong smell (although it is nice I admit, just too strong!) are all let downs.