Body Shop Mango Bath Shower Gel

--What does the promo say?--

"This soap-free shower gel contains real mango seed oil and has a deliciously exotic scent."

--Packaging--

Coming in a range of sizes (250ml, 400ml, and, as part of the Mango Mini Gift Cube, 60ml for travel) means that there is something to suit your every need. The plastic flip top style bottle, while potentially fragile, in fact travels well without leakage. The see-throughness is also handy; I hate not knowing how much of a product is left. Information on the bottle tells you everything you need to know without being overcrowded.

--Application--

Lather up under the shower, or in the bath, and rub all over the body, keeping it away from the face, eyes, and other sensitive areas, and then rinse off. Easy AS.

--Appearance--

A slightly viscous and translucent yellowy-orange gel which replicate the mango's natural colour faithfully. It lathers into a fine white foam which rinses off easily (but not too easily now), leaving no visible residue on the body.

--Scent--

As with the colour, the scent is very accurate - just what you would hope for in a mango shower gel. Rich and natural-smelling, even though the natural mango extract is supplemented by artificial fragrances and limonene.

--Texture and consistency--

Has the reliability that we have all come to expect from the Body Shop - lathers up instantly and favourably, is not sticky at all, and washes off well when you want it to. Good work.

--Effects on the skin--

It seems to leave skin soft enough, but nothing exceptional. The same could be said of the smell; it smells amazing when you're actually in the shower, but doesn't last for hours on the skin.

--Value for money--

Scaling only to the dizzy heights of £5.50 even for the largest size, I'd say you're buying into a good deal here, as even the dinky 60ml bottle lasts ages, and this shower gel delivers a pleasurable truly multi-sensory experience all round. However, if you're more concerned about buying something more environmentally conscious, you could always try the shower gels by Faith In Nature, which are similarly priced and seem to contain a higher proportion of natural ingredients. Nevertheless, I'm not planning on giving up on Body Shop completely - its range of new and unusual scents is virtually unrivalled elsewhere, and with such temptations on offer as moringa, dewberry, arber, kistna and bakula, who could possibly resist?

perfect partners

Mango Soap, from £2

Mango Body Butter, from £12.50

Mango Mini Gift Cube, from £5

Mango Lip Butter, from £4
Mango Body Scrub, from £12.50

Born Lippy Mango and Peach Lip Balm, from £2

Mango Whip Body Lotion, from £8