Kalamazoo Beard And Facial Wash

Kalamazoo was one of the first Lush Kitchen products that I heard about, back when the company's new initiative was first forming. At the time, it wasn't something that immediately appealed to me - partly because it's aimed more towards a male audience and partly because I've already perfected my facial routine. However, I couldn't let it pass without trying it out.

Packed full of skin-enriching ingredients, this beard and facial wash claims to cleanse and soften both skin and hair - leaving you ready to start your day. Almond oil acts as the base here, helping to moisturise and repair broken skin whilst apricot oil helps to nourish and provide a protective layer over the skin - keeping in moisture and giving you a natural glow. 

Pineapple Juice is an excellent anti-inflammatory and boosts your skin's natural radiance - giving your complexion a healthy glow; orange oil is also known for it's skin-healing properties and works with all of the ingredients to support and improve the condition of your skin.

Together these ingredients help to create a beautiful smelling facial wash. You can really detect the orange, pineapple and apricot here, and combined they create an uplifting and highly fruity fragrance. Kalamazoo gives off a wonderfully rich and wholesome citrus smell and is now easily one of my favourite zesty smells from Lush. It's like Sunny Citrus Soap meets The Sun perfume meets Celebrate Body Lotion. In the simplest terms, it's gorgeous.

As strange as it is to say, this product does have a slight masculine smell about it. That's not to say it cannot be enjoyed by all, as I will certainly be buying more of this when it becomes a regular product. However, there is something about it that reminds me a little of men's aftershave. Having said that, I think this would be incredible as a perfume so it's more of a unisex fragrance than anything else. 

In the tub, Kalamazoo's consistency is far thicker than a body lotion - somewhere in between Dirty Hair Cream and Sympathy For The Skin Body Lotion. It's quite condensed in this way so you don't need to use a lot with each use, extending the life of the 110g pot that little bit further.

In the shower, simply scoop about a level teaspoon amount into the palm of your hands and lather across your face or massage into your beard. Leave it for the desired amount of time before rinsing away under the running water. If you're using it on your beard, don't expect any foam - this is more of a moisturiser than a soap in that sense.

Initially, this facial wash made my skin a little rigid - much like when a soap removes some of the natural oils in your skin and leaves your complexion a little parched. My face felt very clean but a little too tight for my liking. However, once I had patted my face down and it was dry, my skin began to feel really soft and I could feel a slight radiance omitting from my cheeks and forehead. I could detect a little of the scent afterwards, but it didn't stay around for long. 

My male test subject commented that his beard did feel clean after he had tried it out, but that it didn't provide an experience any better than when he uses a regular shower gel to clean himself. However, he did notice that the smell stayed in his beard a lot longer than it did on my skin, and he could still smell the wash for many hours after use. 

Having used this across the last few days, I have found that I haven't had to moisturise my face afterwards and the condition of my skin has improved slightly with daily use. It's a lovely product to use first thing in the morning as the smell is highly refreshing and invigorating, and it leaves your skin feeling dirt-free and healthy for the whole day. Now is the perfect time to bring this out as it does a great job at making you feel clean and refreshed, even when you're sweating from the excess heat outside.

For £6.50, I think this is great value for money and works out a lot cheaper than investing in a facial moisturiser. It gets rid of debris build up and gives your skin a healthy glow that stays with you through even the hottest of days. I will be investing in this wash in the future and I only hope that more products with this scent are brought out for Lush fans to enjoy. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Stearic Acid, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Glyceryl Stearate & PEG-100 Stearate, Triethanolamine, Cetearyl Alcohol, Almond Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil, Fresh Pineapple Juice, Perfume, Organic Jojoba Oil, Cupuacu Butter, Methylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes.