Philosophy Snow Angel Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath > Reviews (1)

Last year, in the post-Christmas sale, I picked up a few mini bottles of Philosophy shower gel. I hadn’t tried the brand before, mainly because it was extremely expensive, but I thought a sale would be a good time to do so. I was also attracted by the packaging: each 60ml bottle came in pretty packaging, a tube with a lovely picture on, with a red ribbon on the top so it could be hung up on the Christmas tree. I bought one each of the following shower gels:

-Peppermint Bark
-Snow Angel
-Gingerbread Girl

In this review I will discuss the Snow Angel shower gel. I liked the sound of it as I thought it would be a refreshing, delicate scent. The product was designed to smell like “sweetly fallen snow”. I’m not sure what snow is meant to smell like, if anything, but this product is delicate and refreshing, reminding me of being outside on a crisp frosty day.

The packaging for this shower gel showed a boy playing in the snow, on a cardboard tube decorated with red glitter. The slogan “'Holiday play is fun all day” was printed on the packaging. The gel itself was a lovely deep red colour, inside a clear plastic tube with a flip-top black lid. The following rhyme was printed on the packaging:

“Snow angels come to call during the happiest season of all. The warmth of their glow and joyful sound brings love and peace to those around. Their hearts filled with joy, they bring holiday cheer to every girl and boy.”

Philosophy state that the product can be used as a shampoo, shower gel and bubble bath. As a shower gel, the product isn’t too runny, but isn’t too thick, so you are unlikely to squeeze too much out by mistake, but you won’t have trouble getting it out either. It lathers up well on my shower puff and cleanses effectively, spreading the lovely scent around the bathroom. After use, I do need to apply moisturiser: the gel doesn’t dry out or irritate my skin, but it isn’t moisturising like many Lush products.

As a bubble bath, it also did a reasonable job: there was a good amount of bubbles, but sadly little scent. My skin did feel softer afterwards, however.

I was reluctant to try this as a shampoo, as I prefer to use products specially designed for my dry, coloured hair. However, I gave it a go for the sake of this review. It did a reasonable job, cleansing my hair thoroughly: it was a little dry, but in reasonable condition, and I’d be happy to use this again on a one-off basis – but for every day I certainly prefer a proper shampoo. Sadly the scent didn’t last on my hair, which is a shame as I love it.

I can’t find this particular product on the Internet in the UK (though it is available on several US sites including ebay.com and Amazon.com) but Philosophy shower gels are expensive, and are on a par with Lush in terms of price: a 480ml bottle in Boots costs £14. They are certainly luxurious, lovely products but I’m not sure if they are really worth the money, unlike Lush – perhaps because Lush products are handmade and contain many natural ingredients?

Overall, this is a very pleasant multi-use cleansing product but I’m not sure it is worth the high cost.