New from The Body Shop (and my first impressions): Earth Lovers shower gels

Mixing together fruit and herb extracts and Community Fair Trade aloe vera, the new Earth Lovers shower gels by The Body Shop promise to not only be good for your skin but also for the environment.  The range is the second range from The Body Shop to fall under the eco-conscious label (the first being their Rainforest shampoos).

The entire range is made from a soap free base so it's suitable for sensitive skins and it won't dry you out which is something I welcome because my current shower gels have been aggravating me no end.  The range doesn't contain any of the following:

• Sulphates: This doesn't mean that they don't foam, they contain natural foaming agents.. I can vouch for this as I have a bottle and it does foam up but not as much as ones with sulphates in.  Having said that, I like this amount of lather better.
• Colourants: This ensures that you can see the actual colour of the gel (their Rainforest shampoos are the same).  
• Parabens:  More nasties you don't want!

They come in seven different smells..well, six, the seventh one is unscented.  Does that count as a smell? It doesn't to me because a smell is something your nose recognises but if it's go not smell, what can your nose recognise? But then is nothing something you can recognise? You do say "I smell nothing" so that's recognition.. Anyway, I don't like the way that the Cucumber and Mint one has a lighter coloured bottle design compared to the rest.  In my mind, that should be reserved for the unscented one. 

• Lemon and Thyme: Thyme is good for oily skin and the lemon is all zingy so it'll pep you right up.
• Cucumber and Mint: Both cucumber and mint sooth and hydrate you skin
• Watermelon and Eucalyptus: Great for improving mature skin that feels a bit dull as it nourishes you up a treat.
• Fig and Rosemary: Contains astringent properties and helps to remove dead skin cells which accumulate on the skin.
• Pear and Lemongrass: Soothes and rejuvenates your skin so it's perfect if you have skin complaints.
• Apricot and Basil: Brightens dull skin and helps to relieve fatigue and balance the mind.  How apt that this is the one that I have!

All the shower gels also contain Community Fair Trade aloe vera which comes from Guatemala.  It's grown without pesticides or fertilisers and hand harvested and washed within 12 hours so that the freshness is preserved.  Using Community Fair Trade gives the farmers a decent income and provides the members of the community with work.

Now for the part you've all been waiting for..my first impressions.

The scent I have is Apricot and Basil.  I have some issues with the packaging for a start..it's well known that I wear contact lens/glasses.  This bottle is shaped more like shampoo or conditioner, I've never seen a shower gel come in a bottle like this.  That's all well and good when I've got my lens in but I can see a non-bespectacled version of me (with a bangin' body, natch) picking this up and using it as a shampoo. Anyway, what else? When I sniffed it "neat" it smelt really strongly of apricots which is a good thing, there was only a slight tinge of basil.  When I actually showered with it, the smell of basil was a lot stronger.  Not so strong that you can't smell apricot but this is definitely more basily (when showering) than apricot.  It's odd because when you're out of the shower, the apricot smell comes back. Which leads me to believe that maybe the herby ingredient is there for skin benefits whereas the fruity ingredient is there for olfactory purposes.  I've only used it for a few days so I can't say if it makes my skin brighter but it definitely makes me feel more relaxed and less stressed which is just what I need at the moment.

The range will be available in store from March 2011 and each bottle will set you back £5.00.  As I mentioned, I have one of these and I'm aiming to get the review out pretty soon.