(Review) Dirty Springwash: More Refreshing Than A Popsicle!

It's hard to believe summer's already at an end.  It seems like it was only five minutes ago my thighs were sticking to all the leather furniture and frantically trying to tame the steel wool-esque shrubbery that was my hair.  Usually the hair taming and sticking to things a la Spiderman would've had me clamoring for cooler weather.  But now that the time is here, where the leaves are starting to change, everything is coated in a fine layer of pumpkin spice, and nary an even can be found, I'm finding that my body is so not ready for the cool weather.

Sensing this disturbance, Mother Nature must've granted me a little more time, as the past few weeks have been nice and toasty.  I would happily peel myself from whatever furniture I was stuck to, tie my shrub of hair into a ponytail as to not trap any small woodland creatures (or entice them to build nests) and skip off to work with a smile on my face while my coworkers baked in the heat and humidity.  Even though my apartment doesn't have air conditioning, I still managed to keep cool with a fan, ice cold drinks, and a certain shower gel.

Dirty Springwash is part of the Dirty range at Lush (obviously) which was originally designed with men in mind.  Obviously women and all of those in between can use it as well, hence why I decided to give it a shot!  Since my dearly departed Freeze shower gel, I've been looking for a tingly and refreshing replacement to get me through the hot and sticky weather, and I had high hopes that Dirty Springwash would do that.  Even the name sounds refreshing!

Dirty Springwash contains a hefty dose of spearmint, mentholated crystals, a touch of fine sea salt, and believe it or not, thyme.  Dirty's signature scent has always been spearmint and thyme, giving an odd savory twist to the refreshing kick of spearmint.  Lush fragrances have been anything but ordinary, and Dirty is no exception.  So when I squirted that first blue blob onto my shower poof, I was expecting a minty, tingly kick when I actually got a hefty dose of spice filling the air.  All I could pick up was the thyme, with a few base notes of spearmint and nary a bit of minty tingle on my skin!  Mind you the scent wasn't offensive or something I deemed bad, but it was a lot different than what I thought it was going to be.  Honestly it reminded me a lot of tabbouleh, which is great to eat, but not so great to shower with.  Once I lathered a bit on my skin, I found the spearmint notes became stronger, but not as strong as I would like.  Nonetheless, by the end of my shower, I felt clean and refreshed and ready to take on that midwestern humidity.

Overall, Dirty Springwash was an interesting one to use.  The savory notes were something I found quite strong, but if working at Lush has taught me anything, it's that a person's scent is almost as unique as their fingerprint.  While I mainly smelled thyme in Dirty Springwash, someone else could come along and smell nothing but spearmint.  It's funny how scent works that way.  I ended up using the entire bottle, and while I liked the clean and fresh feeling it gave me, I don't think the scent worked for me.  And that's okay!  Because what doesn't work for myself works well for someone else, and I will give Dirty credit for being a totally unique scent...something I never would've seen someone put together.  And who knows...it could be that bottle you reach for when you need some cooling down on those hot, sticky nights!

***Dirty Springwash is certified Vegan

(Review) Ice Blue: What's Cooler Than Being Cool?

I thought I'd gotten out safe.  This summer has been nothing short of delightful...warm, but not too hot.  Nothing a cracked window and an iced tea couldn't cure.  Without air conditioning in my apartment, I found I could snuggle into my covers like it was the dead of winter and fall asleep with a body temperature like baby bear's porridge...juuuuuuuuuust right.  I bathed in the sunshine, often taking my work lunches outside with my book and without a care.  Somehow I knew it was all too good to be true.  And it was.

Just a few days ago I woke in what I thought was a greenhouse jungle, but in actuality was my apartment.  Everything was sticky and warm, the air so thick I could barely breathe.  My old fashioned wooden doors were swollen and required a rightly timed body slam to shut them, and my poor fan did little to cool me down.  For once I was thankful Bossman cranks the AC to arctic temperatures.  I would go into work in my black and white uniform and bask in the cold like a penguin with a Lush apron on.  But after my shift ends, when I'd go home for the day back to the environment where my hair would swell three times its size in water weight, how would I stay cool?

When I heard Ice Blue was being discontinued, the first thing that popped into my mind was "my roommate's gonna be piiiiiiiissed!"  I for one was indifferent, as the last time I tried it I wasn't too impressed.  While she ran out and bought a hefty chunk of the blue stuff, I was contemplating whether I should repurchase or not.  But being that I have a love for all things minty and bright, neon colors, I eventually relented and bought a nicely sized chunk to try out before it was gone for good. 

Ice Blue is a sturdy soap.  So much so that Bossman actually broke a knife cutting into a full sized round of it (no one was harmed in the process besides the knife!).  With a sea salt rind and an intense, pepperminty scent, Ice Blue is perfect for warm summer days where you feel like you're boiling alive in your skin.  It's essentially a solid version of the dearly departed Freeze shower gel, which got me through summer a few years ago (one of the hottest I've ever experienced I might add).  Ice Blue is also not its full name.  Ice Blue's full name is (as told to me, and pardon the french) "Ice Blue F*ck You," and was aptly named after a business relationship went sour.  Ironic how such a beautifully fragranced and eye catching soap was conceived out of bad blood.

I feel like with Lush soaps, they need a use or two to "get going."  And by get going, I mean until they form a good lather.  Usually it takes me 1-2 tries, but with this one it took me quite a bit to work up a sizable lather.  It was a bit frustrating at first but I eventually got the hang of it, and soon my body was cool and tingly with puffy mint suds.  The soap rinsed clean and left my skin smelling musky, minty, and fresh.  I emerged anew from my shower and back into the humidity ridden hellhole from whence I came.  This time though, I felt fresh and clean! 

I'm so glad I gave Ice Blue a second chance, as the first time I used it a few years back, it didn't sit well with me.  I found the scent stuck surprisingly well to my skin and left me feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.  The lather was decent, but still rinsed clean.  I'm a bit sad to see this one go, even though it's nothing I'd go batty over.  Mint has always been a comforting scent to me...something about the freshness and cleanliness of it is just so refreshing.  I'd often pick up a hunk of this soap when I was feeling tired or my allergies were flaring, give it a good huff, and be on my way.  Dirty, while a great smelling soap, just doesn't have the same effect.

But if I get too nostalgic, I could always slice a bit off of the $40 chunk my roommate bought, right?  She totally won't notice ;)