Review: Movis Facial Soap by Lush

I’M LOVING IT!

Oooohhh. I really am loving Movis (a wheaty Face Soap). Every time I dab my face dry, I get a little more in love with it. My face feels smooth to the touch, soft, supple and oh so clean. Whether used in the morning, noon, night or dawn, it gives me the same beautiful result! Such a pleasure to use this one. Really. Think soap version of honey-sweetened oatmeal (although it has wheat germ and wheat bran in it and no oats!). My nose thinks it has a touch of cinnamon—at least a hint of the scent, but it isn’t listed as one of the ingredients. My face feels so fresh and clean that it tempts me to skip the moisturizer (but I don’t). When used fresh, a little goes a looong way; foaming up easily and exfoliating decently. Plus: I get to open my eyes comfortably and that for me is such a treat. Got my healthy sized sample from Lush Mong Kok (Hong Kong).

DOWNSIDE:

After the four-week mark, it dries and shrinks down to a gelatinous state instead of the initial soft, bready kind of soap. Am I making any sense?! It was easier to use when it was still at the latter state simply because it was easy to pinch off a little bit, lather up and scrub the face with the bran and the germ. But 4 weeks have passed since then and it is no longer easy to take a bit off. It even gets more challenging to lather it up on my face or on my palms. When it shrank down to a gelatinous state, the scrubbing action was gone. I still thoroughly enjoyed using it though. Like tonight, it was harder to form a lather and yet, my face still feels great after.

Over 4 weeks

I used it as a “solid facial scrub,” a facial loofah of a sort. Same result. Skin was smooth and fresh. However, I do have a bit of psychological problems with it. It has not broken me out but the thing is, I am not so sure how hygienic it is when used directly on my face---I do rinse it off after use (just how one would when using solid soap) but still…right? And also, when I rinse it under the tap, I do know that a bit of product is washed away. Nonetheless, in spite of all the rinsing, it still has stayed in its “chewy” state.

A HAPPY ACCIDENT:

Left the chewy Movis bar by the tub and it got really wet (kids were enjoying Shooting Star and Drummers Drumming-both by Lush).  The chewiness gave way to floppiness and when I used it, it was as if I was using it fresh from the store. Its outer surface sloughed off and the bran and wheat germ were free to roam around and scrub my face. But then again, I wonder about what germinates in there when it gets “rehydrated.” Result-wise though, I still am happy to say that after using it this way for a week, it still delivers the same beautiful result.

THE CHALLENGE:

I still do not know how to extend the fresh state of this soap beyond the 4 weeks. I have used zip lock, the lush tin…with no desired result. Was planning to stock up on this as it isn’t available in the Philippines yet, but as with all Lush’s fresh facial cleansers, its short shelf life prevents me from doing so.

INGREDIENTS: