Tried: Kitsch nourishing conditioner, $20
By Lucy Adams, PRIMER beauty editor
Rubbing a bar over your hair definitely takes some getting used to. But did you know that most of the slip and slide we all love about conditioner actually comes from water? Simply glide the bar up and down your hair three-to-four times (you won’t need much, a little goes a long way and it’s meant to last 100 washes), then massage through your hair, concentrating on your mid-lengths to ends. The result? My hair felt hydrated and just as conditioned as my regular (plastic bottle – eek!) formula and smelt ‘spa-like’, which was a relaxing bonus.
Tried: Ethique Saving Face Serum, $41
By Lucy Adams, PRIMER beauty editor
This nifty little three-pack of serum not only packs some serious skincare, it also saves three 60ml plastic bottles, and a tree is planted with every order! What’s more, it’s actually really good – and easy to use. With ingredients like shea butter, rosehip oil and cupuacu butter, it melts into the skin. And like most bars, a little goes a long way. I applied it liberally to my forehead and t-zone (skipping my oily chin), massaged it in, let it absorb (takes a little longer than my regular serum), and then applied my night moisturiser over the top. A real winner for my dry, sensitive skin.
Tried: Lush Full of Grace Naked Facial Oil, $19.95
By Daniela Elser, writer
The idea of how exactly to use an oil in bar form stumped me to start with. After first trying to use it on my damp skin (oil and water, d’uh), I ended up having to start again, cleansing and gently drying my face before attempting round two. This time, direct body heat meant the bar very slightly melted on touch, as I’m guessing it is supposed to. The fresh rose petal infusion was divine and my perennially dry skin definitely enjoyed the murumuru butter. The combination of a good product in bar form though is a big win for those of us who can get quite lazy about skincare (cough), especially at night.
Tried: NueBar Face Wash, $18
By Lucy Adams, PRIMER beauty editor
Truthfully, once I got past the fact it wasn’t a liquid product, the face-washing process wasn’t much different. If anything, more streamlined and efficient. Post wash, my face felt clean and hydrated. The nifty typography on the bar makes it handy to grab when you’re on the go, too: F for face; S for shampoo, etc. The only challenge for me was keeping it dry between uses. While it wasn’t the chicest solution, I housed it in an old travel soap box I had lying around, and that did the trick nicely. I’m now on the hunt for a chic, drainable soap dish, as this solid player is staying put in my weekly line-up.
Tried: Lush Scrubee Body Butter, $16.95
By Daniela Elser, writer
Lush’s Scrubee is a whimsical product that looks and smells like something out of an Enid Blyton novel. The ground almonds in the honey-scented bar leave your skin feeling pleasantly, though not that thoroughly, exfoliated, and your skin soft. The fact it’s a bar makes it much easier (and faster) to use than other body scrubs.
Tried: Drunk Elephant JuJu Bar, $40
By Anna Saunders
After I washed my face with Drunk Elephant’s facial cleansing “Juju Bar”, I waited expectantly for that squeaky clean, tight feeling that comes whenever you use a product that’s way too astringent.
I waited. And waited. But that feeling never came. Instead, my face just felt pleasantly, thoroughly clean – and even slightly soft, presumably thanks to the Marula oil in the Juju Bar, which gives it a pH of 6.3 instead of the standard soap pH of 9 or above.
I liked that I could easily use the Juju Bar in the shower (as long as it’s stored in a container), although the exfoliating bamboo power won’t suit sensitive or rosacea-prone skin types.