Generally speaking, I'm not one for beauty products. I buy a bottle of cheap conditioner and body wash at Wal-Mart and move on with my life. If I'm feeling particularly adventurous, I might duck into Bath and Body Works and pick up a bottle of body wash, but rest assured, not because I know it does anything for my skin... Just because it smells good. Can you be vain about smelling good? I think so. That's very important, after all! I may not wear makeup, but at least I smell good.

On a recent whim, however, I decided I would start test driving some things a little more out of my norm in the world of bathing and smelling good. Eden was the perfect place to test things out and I fell in love with the Milk Made line as soon as I saw it. Although it required a few extra days worth of saving, I tossed a bottle of the Bath & Shower Bubbles into my cart for my most recent order and I don't regret it in the least.

Despite the name, Milk Made Bath & Shower Bubbles probably aren't made to be a bubble bath. I can't say that I've tried using it in the bath yet because I live in a dorm and only have a shower (isn't that a shame?). However, judging from the consistency and the way it "froths" rather than "bubbling" when I use it in the shower, coupled with the fact I've heard some complaints about it being a less than satisfactory bubble bath, I'm willing to guess that this particular product just isn't made to bubble up your relaxing bath time.

What it is made to do, however, is leave you with incredibly soft, lightly scented skin after a good shower. Since I'm not exactly a beauty connoisseur, I typically use mine with just a plain, cheap bath sponge (the puffy, round, mesh kind available just about everywhere). I wet my sponge, squirt 5-6 lines of Shower Bubbles across the top, rub it in so that it gets nice and frothy/bubbly, and then lather my way straight into the most heavenly smelling bakery I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing in the shower. (Not that I frequently experience bakeries in the shower or anything.)

One of the first things I noticed about this body wash is that it's much thinner than body wash I'm used to. I mentioned using 5-6 "lines" of body wash across the top of my bath sponge... That's compared to the ample 2-4 that I usually use. Frankly, however, I don't necessarily consider this to be a bad thing. The container is very full, so I have no worries about running out early or not getting my money's worth because I have to use a little more than usual.

The liquid itself is thin and largely white in color--I suspect it may have a small hint of pink in it, but it's very faint, and sometimes I'm not sure rather it's the lighting or if the liquid is actually tinted. It is very milky and faintly shiny in bright light: overall, it looks very pretty, should you be concerned with that sort of thing. Because of how "runny" the mixture can be, however, I suggest pouring slowly your first time! I was quite surprised at how much came out when I used the Shower Bubbles for the initially, since typically I have to turn my body wash bottles over and shake them a little just to get the thick liquid out. This is not a problem that the Milk Made Shower & Bath Bubbles share, so make sure that you're gentle with the bottle the first time you use it.

This body wash, like most body wash, is not meant to be eaten or drunk, so obviously I did neither. Although I might be willing to taste a bit for the sake of science in the future, it's not particularly high on my priority list at the moment. Given how few questionable chemicals are actually in the body wash, however, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it tasted like marshmallows, coconut, and raspberries (which make up a large part of the ingredient list).

The smell is probably one of the best parts, however. It's hard to properly portray a smell over the internet and frankly the descriptions in other reviews didn't quite get there for me. Although I love the smell, it took a day or two for it to grow on me because I was expecting something just a little different at first. The bottle advertises itself as being a mixture of vanilla milk and baked raspberries and while that's a relatively good description, I'll try to elaborate just a bit more.

I went in expecting a very, very sweet smelling body wash. The raspberries do a lot to combat this, though... The raspberry portion of the scent really does smell like baked raspberries. It's a very warm raspberry scent, similar to what I imagine a fresh raspberry pie would smell like. ( If you've ever had an opportunity to smell cooked berries vs uncooked berries, there's a decent difference between the two. ) Beyond this, there is also the "vanilla" smell which comes from the marshmallow extract and potentially from the milk protein as well, although I'm not familiar enough with the chemical nature of proteins to know if it gives off a scent. While the marshmallow scent is very distinct (my roommate picked it out immediately), I think it balances really nicely with the warm raspberry scent and creates a wash that smells amazing without being overpoweringly sweet or fruity.

I'm always a little skeptical of things that are going to make me softer/better smelling/generally more magical. It's not that I don't want to be softer/better smelling/generally more magical, it's just that those body washes, lotions, creams, and powders almost never live up to their word or my expectations. The Milk Made Nourishing Bath and Body Bubbles have blown other products I've used completely out of the water, though. Scent doesn't tend to stick well to my skin, but the light raspberry vanilla scent of the Milk Made body wash stays incredibly well. It's very faint, so it doesn't interfere with perfume or the scent of my hair, if I use a scented shampoo, but it's noticeable when you smell my skin directly. I imagine it would be a great surprise or an added bonus for a lover or anyone that would be doing a lot of touching you!

This body wash also really does leave your skin incredibly soft. It's a very noticeable difference! I've only been using it for a couple days, but I'm hoping to find out rather it leaves a lasting difference or not. Straight out of the shower my skin feels incredibly hydrated and silky smooth to the touch--it's especially fun wearing particularly smooth fabrics because they feel SO good against my skin. I am unable to notice a strong difference the next day, but frankly I love this body wash so much that sometimes I shower twice a day just for the happiness using it brings me, so I don't have too many worries about the length of the effect. Hopefully in a few months I'll be able to update as to whether or not the body wash has had a lasting effect on my skin.

Since this is simply body wash, there isn't much concern with discreteness unless you're terribly worried about your friends and family thinking that you don't wash. That being said, the bottle is simple and actually surprisingly large, all things considered. It's wider than the average body wash bottle, but shorter. It probably offers less than a normal sized body wash from Wal-Mart, but it's by no means an unreasonably small amount of body wash. The bottle itself does not come with anything special wrapped around it or sealing it and was simply laid down in my most recent order box with the rest of the things I ordered.

It occurs to me now that it would be a little nice if the bottle had come pre-sealed, as it does not. There isn't any sort of packaging to break or seal to penetrate and while it isn't that I don't trust Eden not to tamper with my products, it might be a nice reassurance for some people. It isn't the first time I've received a shampoo/body wash in the mail that wasn't individually sealed however, so I can't say that I'm incredibly surprised or that the lack of a seal is out of the norm.

In the end, I can't speak highly enough about the Milk Made Nourishing Bath and Body Bubbles. I'm always looking for a reliable body wash (or shampoo) that I'm confident about using long-term, and I can safely say that I think I'll be using this body wash for a long time.