Villainess Body Soap

RRP: $5/£4

--What does the promo say?--
"Absolutely smooth, sheer, silken lather."

--Packaging--
The packaging consists of an olde-worlde paper label wrapped around the soap, encased in a plastic wrapping which is rather difficult to tear open. I'd prefer fully paper packaging myself; even cardboard would work well with this brand. Apart from that, things are all good, with the soap packaging design fitting in consistently with the Villainess brand as a whole.

--Usage--
Lather up over your body during a shower or bath. Rub the bar over arms, legs, chest and stomach area to make bubbles before rinsing off.

--Appearance--
Again, the colour descriptions on the website are slightly out: rather than being a "frothy bog green", I'd say that this was more of a distinguished pale brown, even though the lather that's created is pale white. No visible residue is left on the body after use.

--Lather, texture and consistency--
As described: not as obviously foamy as bath bubbles, but a definite, pleasing, sophisticated sheen of lather. Washes off easily when you want it to, but doesn't slide off the body seconds after application. I found it a real pleasure and treat to use. My fiancé was not so sure: he didn't find it luxurious enough and is more used to using shower gels rather than body bars. Equally, I found that it washed off well, but he said that his skin felt 'sticky' after use.

--Scent--
I have to say that I wasn't keen: the vetiver is quite overpowering and packs a serious masculine punch. This might be a better present for your boyfriend than for you. However, saying that, even my man didn't like it: he found it just too 'soap-smelling' and has preferred other samples that I've stuck into the shower in the past.

--How does your skin feel afterwards?--
Smooth and lovely. No objections.

--Value for money--
This is a great value body bar that I can see lasting me a long time; after a few uses it still looks brand new, and I would definitely choose it over Lush's Buffy in terms of refinement, efficacy and identity. Even though I wasn't too keen on the scent, Villainess luckily offers a really good range of variants so that there's bound to be something that suits me (Ginger Snapped? Yes please!).

perfect partners
Grundy Smooch! Body Scrub, £7/$10
Grundy Whipped! Body Cream, £7/$10
Grundy Mud Face Mask, £7/$12
Grundy Perfume Oil, £10/$16
Grundy Kaboom! Bath Bomb, $8.50 (available only through Villainess website)