philosophy amazing grace perfumed shampoo, shower gel and bubble bath

RRP: from £18/$22 for 475ml/16oz

--What does the promo say?--
"amazing grace was selected as one of Oprah's favorite things® for 2005! amazing grace perfumed shampoo and shower gel is philosophy's best selling, uniquely feminine, moisturizing shampoo, shower gel and bubble bath created for the most gracious bodies. Because it is formulated with nourishing milk proteins, it calms even the most sensitive skin and nourishes the driest hair. Clean skin and hair never smelled so amazing.

You need this product if...
# you are looking for a moisturizing shampoo, bath, and shower gel for dry skin and hair
# you want hair that looks and feels terrific
# you like multi-tasking products
# you like a gentle formulation
# you need a moisturizing formula "

--Packaging--
This has a nice design (transparent plastic bottle, with black simple lettering and a black plastic lid), but the plastic is really hard and so it's a real struggle to squeeze the stuff out of the bottle.

--Appearance--
The lotion is a pale, dusky rose pink, with a nacreous shimmer to it, and it's a perfect consistency too - not too runny, not too viscous, not at all lumpy. It lathers nicely too, with a 50p-size piece lathering up all over your body. The lather is white and no visible or tangible residue is left on the body afterwards.

--Scent--
Really, really tricky. Nothing is specified on the bottle label, even in the small print of the ingredients, and there's no discernible overriding scent. My best guess was rose. While the scent (whatever it is) personifies the concept of 'grace' quite well (it's delicate and feminine), I think it's a pretty poor showing to not list any specific scent on the label at all.

--Texture--
Smooth. Oh so very smooth.

--How does it make your skin and hair feel?--
It makes your skin feel very soft, and there's no irritation, but then I do have quite normal/oily skin anyway, so I didn't expect to see much difference anyway as I don't have any body skin problems that need repairing. I must admit I haven't tested it on my hair - partly because I'm currently trialling a new Pantene shampoo (ooh the excitement!) and am expressly forbidden to use any other shampoos concurrently; and partly because I didn't trust it enough to put it on my hair (mainly because my hair is quite sensitive to new products, but the fact that the contents of the shampoo were quite dubious also didn't exactly help). Perhaps when the Pantene trial is up I'll give it a go, but I'm not holding out much hope.

--Longevity--
Certainly the scent doesn't really linger.

--Value for money--
Not fantastic - I wouldn't pay the RRP for this (although one bottle lasts plenty long enough). I just don't think the minimal effects are worth paying for.

perfect partners
amazing grace perfumed daily hair conditioner, £10 for 8oz
amazing grace fragrance, £32 for 60ml
amazing grace firming body emulsion, £27 for 475ml
amazing grace hot tub scrub, £24 for 650g
amazing grace hand cream, £9 for 28.5g
amazing grace foot cream, £18
amazing grace body butter, £22 for 5oz
amazing grace candle, £24 for 10oz

*available from John Lewis, HQ Hair, and www.philosophy.com