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Wednesday 7 October 2015

Pump It Up Dry Shower BodyWash Review: Using the Husband as a Guinea Pig …

Pump It Up very kindly offered me one of their Raspberry Fresh and one of their Coconut Dry Shower Body Washes out to try for free. I agreed to write a post on the bodywash with the proviso that I would write exactly what I thought and if I didn’t like it then I would say just that. I wasn’t paid.



I wasn’t sure what to expect of the product. I’d had visions of some sort of antibacterial style wash that smelled of pine fresh toilets and medicine cabinets. But when it arrived I was pleasantly surprised. The 2 fragrances were ‘Raspberry Fresh’ and ‘Coconut’. And surprisingly both of them actually smelled of those. NICE versions of those, not air freshener versions. 

I tried the Raspberry Fresh out on ‘Just home from work’ Sarah. It pumped out a handful of frothy foam and I rubbed it around my neck and under my arms. “You smell nice” said 6 year old. Initially it felt sticky but only for a few seconds and it dried quickly, leaving a subtle fresh fragrance. 

However, I didn’t need this for ‘Just home from work and office dirty Sarah’. I needed this for 24hr races, post-triathlon and trail marathon dirty Sarah. And I needed to smell clean enough so I’d be let into KFC for my hard earned pieces of chicken dipped in orange crunchy bits. And chips. 

Now I’ll understand if you think this next bit is awful. I understand why this isn’t a) hygienic b) kind and c) grounds for a happy marriage. But it was a damn good test. 

I dragged the turbo trainer out, stuck the bike on it and did an hour of one of Coach Mary’s turbo sessions which are (whatever she says) designed to leave the victim with jelly legs and in a puddle of sweat on the floor. Suitably jellified, sweaty and smelly I removed my revolting kit, gave it to the hungry washing machine and applied a liberal coating of Raspberry Pump It Up. 

I then crawled into bed with the husband.

“Did you have a good bike session? I didn’t hear you have a shower”, he innocently said.
I lied, crossed my fingers and said “Oh I had a quick splash.” And waited for the comments about the smell. There were none. It seemed that Pump It Up had done exactly what it had supposed to. 

Since passing the Husband Test, I’ve used Pump It Up several other times and in challenging situations:
  • When crewing a 24hr runner, I’ve given them a liberal application. As well as helping with the smell it’s also apparently quite refreshing.
  • After a half iron triathlon, a quick swish round so I’m allowed in the shop to buy myself an ice cream.
  • After lake swimming. It didn’t entirely remove the duck poo & mud moustache (Brownlee tri) but it certainly made me smell better. 


I like it and I’ve used it enough to be convinced that I’ll be buying it in the future. I’ve spent a lot of this year camping after running and it’s been brilliant for times when a shower isn’t an option. 



Benefits:
  • It doesn’t smell like a discarded gym sock –  it’s a nice, fresh fragrance.
  • I feel fresher when I smell better. Sometimes at a 24hr or endurance event, there isn’t the option of a shower mid-race and it’s nice to have a product that makes me feel a bit cleaner … if I’m not!
  • It’s foamy not watery so easy to apply. 
  • It fools husband into thinking wife is not in fact a stinky cow who didn’t have a shower in order to use him as a guinea pig for this product.
  • Fools KFC & ice cream shop enough to let them let me in after races to get to the food.
  • No towel necessary. 
  • Kills the bacteria that causes body odour - doesn’t just cover it up. 
  • PH balanced, paragon & alcohol free.
  • Variety of fragrances including: coconut, raspberry, mandarin, mint & lime …


Downsides
  • Doesn’t get all the duck poo off after lake swimming (probably a high ask).
  • Slightly sticky initially.
  • One size bottle – travel size might be good. 


Pump it Up is available from Boots and each 150ml bottle costs £3.00 each. 


2 comments:

  1. errrr...THIS SOUNDS AMAZING! Although realised that this + dry shampoo may = I never shower again....

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    Replies
    1. It's certainly made me a lot lazier after races. "Shall I traipse back to the shower block or lie here in the sunshine eating this ice cream ....?" It's been a post-triathlon game changer! :)

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