When's the last time you wanted to rub silly putty all over your body or even considered that it might be safe to? Exactly. The Phoenix bubbles and shower gel might be one of the most bizarre products that I've tried so far. It seems so modern and witty based off of the bottle and variety of mood boosting selections. Yet, it has a consistency that I doubt a single person would be fond of, and it has an overpowering silly putty smell. It's basically a pretty person with an ugly inside.

The front of the bottle says: The Phoenix (when you need to rise from the ashes-yet again). Then it has the manufacturer, Not Soap Radio. This is a 12.17 oz clear bottle with the actual gel being red and the print in black. The back of the bottle starts out with a witty little note, "Been down so long you think the gutter is the sky? Afraid of tempting the fates by asking, "How can it get worse?"...
Basically, this gel is supposed to pick you up and give you a fresh start. The bottle has some inspirational information on the back as well.

It also has a list of ingredients that are as follows:
*Sodium laureth sulfate (has been known to irritate skin, foaming agent)
*Deionized water (purified water)
*Cocamidopropyl betaine (a thickener)
*Cocamide MEA (increases foam)
*Fragrance
*Phenoxyethanol (a preservative)
*Glycol distearate (produces a pearly effect)
*Methylparaben (often used as a preservative, but in the paraben family!)
*Citrus aurantium bergamia (Bergamont fruit oil)
*Yellow 5
*Red 4
*Red 33

To say that I'm not happy with this ingredient list would be a severe understatement. After all, most of these ingredients I had to google search in order to understand. In addition, I found more than one ingredient that is speculated to be an allergen or to cause irritation to the skin. Several dyes, fragrance, and parabens are also ingredients that I wasn't happy about. This product is not only NOT stripped down to the necessary ingredients, but it is actually facing overkill for things like adding an ingredient simply for a pearly effect. One positive thing I can say is that the bergamot is claimed to be "optimism-promoting," although it is spelled differently in the ingredient list than it is on the lower part of the bottle (bergamont vs bergamot). Another positive thing I can say is that the foaming agents seem to work, as I had bubbles all over and that were long-lasting when I used this gel as a bubble bath. However, I still used quite a bit of the product, and the smell was still apparent even in bubble form.

This is a made in the USA product, and for that, I have to say that the price is not overly outrageous. Anything that hasn't been outsourced seems to be a little steep in comparison to similar products. Part of the profits also benefit 365 Birthdays, a non-profit for at-risk children.

I will also say that the bottle came with no inside seal, so if the flip top happens to come open during shipment, you are going to have a real mess. Also, Eden sent my bottle in just a plastic bag with a knot tied in the top. This means that not everything in your shipment will be ruined if this bottle leaks as long as you are ordering from Eden or another company that takes this precaution.

Last but not least, I do not think I would purchase The Phoenix again. However, I am a fan of the witty Not Soap Radio products in general. I also have read that some of the "sister" bottles to The Phoenix smell better, and I think I could get over the texture as long as the smell wasn't bad. With that being said, if you plan on buying the Not Soap Radio gel offered here, go with another scent/type.

Go figure that the three different dyes along with the color involved with the other ingredients will stain. If you intend to put this on a washcloth to lather, I hope that you are not using a white washcloth or other light color. In fact, the only time I would recommend applying this to anything cloth is if that item is already red. In addition, this is not going to be a middle of the day, splash on your face kind of gel due to the fact that any splatters will take up residence on your clothing permanently.

So, I definitely hated this gel. The smell was enough for me to find myself just dumping the gel down the drain before tossing the bottle. However (and this is kind of funny) my mom was visiting right after I dumped this stuff, and she told me how great my bathroom smelled! Perhaps when it is washed away, it is light enough to not evoke gagging in others. Still, with several ingredients that have come under scrutiny for being irritants, this gel is not something I would recommend to my friends or family. Basically, can we get this kind of wit on the packaging for some organic products?!