Hello everyone! If you follow my blog you’ll know that The Body Shop sends me free stuff about once a month, and in exchange I write a quick review on their website. I also usually write an accompanying review on this blog. This time they sent me a couple of items from their Fuji Green Tea line.
Fuji Green Tea Body Butter
When I first got this in the mail, I was excited because I absolutely love The Body Shop’s Body Butters. They, along with the (original- not Fuji) Tea Tree line of products are the original reason why I fell in love with The Body Shop’s products. Once I opened it I was delighted with the smell. The first thing I thought was, “Ooooh! I hope this comes in a Body Spray!” Initially, when I saw “Green Tea” on the product I thought that it might be over-powering in the way that green tea can be at times. This is not. It’s a distinctly light scent and it’s very wearable. I’ve noticed that they are selling an Eau De Parfum, and I might have to pick that up, but I do hope that they release a body spray in the future. The Body Butter itself, is just as moisturizing, smooth and wonderful as the other body butters I fell in love with and I’m looking forward to picking up this one again once I run out of my travel sized one.
You can pick up this Body Butter here, retail is $21 (but you can probably find it on sale! 🙂 )
I always have to admit that when I’m sent full sized versions of products, I do tend to appreciate them more. Like the Body Butter, I really enjoyed the scent of this product, its fragrance filled my shower making it fun to use. I felt that it did a perfect job of exfoliating my legs, and that it left them fresh and clean-feeling. Personally, I tend to prefer sugar scrubs but if you like the ones with beads in them, this one will be perfect for you. My favorite scrub that I’ve tried from The Body Shop so far has been the Wild Argan Oil Body Scrub, which I purchased after having received the Wild Argan Oil Body Butter and Hair Oil from The Body Shop and really enjoying the scent and results. I would definitely recommend the hair oil now that I’ve been using it for a while, now that I think about that too.
The Body Shop recently released a new face mask and I wanted to take the time to tell you about it! As many of you, who follow my blog know, The Body Shop has been sending me their new offerings since July 2014, and all they ask is that I write a review on their site. They don’t ask me (or pay me!) to do anything else. I just wanted to make it clear, in case anyone was wondering whether or not I get paid for these reviews. I have done quite a few!
Let’s get to the meat then!
I’ve been testing this mask for over two weeks now, wearing it every other night. I think I’ve developed a pretty well-rounded opinion. First off, I gave this 5 stars online. I absolutely loved it and I really think it’s my absolute favourite product that I’ve tried that they’ve sent me so far, other than the Argan Oil body butter. I absolutely LOVE their Body Butters, they’re why I fell in love with The Body Shop products in the first place. Honourable mentions will also go to their Tea Tree line of products.
When I first received it, I liked the packaging but was curious about the texture.
Here are some pics for you:
Outer box it comes inPackagingTexture of Bouncy Sleep MaskSpatula to scoop product
It’s interesting and certainly lives up to its name. It IS bouncy! When I first started using it, I was what I would call generous and what others might call “heavy-handed” with my application. Soon enough I learned that you don’t really need that much at all to ensure maximum effectiveness. It smells nice, but it’s not overly pefume-y, which I enjoy. Scent is important when you’re going to be sleeping with it on. I usually apply it about 2-3 hours before bed time in order to let it sit on my skin, undisturbed before going to sleep. The mask stays on fairly well over night, even considering the fact that I’m a side-sleeper. It comes off easily when I wash my face in the morning and reveals gorgeous, fresh, ‘bouncy’ skin. My favorite part about this mask is how my skin looks and feel after using it. As many of you know, I am a student, this mask makes my skin look like it “woke up” at least two hours before me when I wash this mask off in the morning. It’s hard to describe, but I’d use the words “hydrated” and “refreshed” to tell you how my skin looks and feels after using this mask. Oh, and it’s not even a bit greasy! Really great buy if you’re in the market for a new hydrating mask.
Did you buy this? What do YOU think? Let me know in the comments below!
As many of you may be aware, since last August I’ve been a Beauty Influencer with The Body Shop, which basically means that they send me free stuff in exchange for my thoughts and reviews on the items they send to me.
This month they sent me Soap on a Rope. It came in some fairly provocative packaging.
And it looks like this:
(Full disclosure: I had already used the soap once when this photo was taken.)
It is hemp-based soap, which explains the shape of it and the smell. It smells exactly like their Hemp Hand Protector, which I tend to recommend to men looking for a masculine hand moisturizer that is very effective.
I would say that this soap is very moisturizing but I don’t love the smell and the marketing is a little risqué in my opinion. However, I am not going to consider the marketing in my review and I would give the product a 3 star rating over all. I love that it is moisturizing but the smell isn’t amazing or feminine at all, so this product is not for me. I love pretty, sweet or perfumed scents in the shower as opposed to this scent. So, while I would rank this high on efficacy and moisture provision, I would rank it rather low on scent. I will switch back to the Cranberry scented Shower gel I was sent by The Body Shop last year and leave this masculine scented soap for my husband to use, since he likes it. He says that it is quote, ‘very lather-y’ and that the smell was not as strong as he expected.
Hey y’all! I have a review for y’all today! As you may know from previous posts here, here, here, here, here and here, periodically (monthly-ish), The Body Shop sends me pretties to review. This month they sent me the Smoky Poppy Body Lotion and a Lip & Cheek Velvet Stick. These are both brand new products, and while the lotion is in stock online ($12), I believe the lip & cheek stick ($16) will launch on the 16th along with their Pucker Up contest. I’ve been using the lip & cheek stick for 2 days, as well as the body lotion. So far I really like both. The body lotion is something I would use on a regular basis, and while I absolutely love their luxurious body butters for overnight moisture, they’re sometimes not practical during the day because I like to take my time applying them for the sheer experience of it. I find it relaxing. This is something I could definitely see myself applying during the day. It’s quick & easy to apply. It’s slightly thicker than their “Body Milk” (which I have in Coconut) and it is thinner than the Body Butters. This stuff smells great. I don’t know who works in the scent department at The Body Shop, but those people are geniuses! They are always on the ball! This stuff smells like an exotic perfume and the scent lasts on the skin for a long time. Here’s what the packaging looks like, plus I put some on my hand and sheered some of it out so you can see what it looks like. I found that it absorbs well and my skin felt moisturized, but not greasy after using it.
Smoky Poppy Body Lotion packagingSmoky Poppy Body Lotion sample
The second product they sent me is a makeup product, which being obsessed as I currently am with makeup, I’m arguably more excited about this product than the last. I’ve been using this Lip & Cheek stain mostly on my lips. I tried it on my cheeks and I found the colour a little overwhelming for my skin tone. It smells pretty, and in that regard is quite pleasant, and it glides on just nicely. I like the color- it’s rather bold, but I know I can pull it off! It looks black on the stick, but it comes off as a dark red-purple on the lips. It’s worth mentioning that this is a push-up stick and no sharpening is required. The thing I liked best about this lip (and cheek) stick is the long lasting wear of it. I can be bad about reapplying my lip products and this stuff lasts through meals and coffees. The one thing I didn’t love is that although it is slightly moist, I don’t feel that it is ‘moisturizing’ which is something I tend to need in the winter. However, what I’ve been doing is throwing it over a clear lip balm and that works great.
packagingfrom the topfrom the side
I am really happy with both of these products and think that The Body Shop’s creativity with both of these is really shining through this time.
Have you tried any of these? What do you think? Let me know in the comments below!
Hello everyone! I am so excited to be reviewing some of my favorite products that The Body Shop makes today. It’s no secret that I love The Body Shop’s Body Butters. I have been buying them for years. My first one was Satsuma, and it’s still one of my favorite scents. If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that about once a month The Body Shop sends me some products to review. I think this will be the last product they’ll send me this year- so I’ll post links to all my previous reviews.
As you can see, the first review I did was of the Argan Oil Body Butter. I was so ecstatic about it. I absolutely love the scent. On top of that I already thought The Body Shop’s Body Butters are amazing. So that one was an easy 5 stars. As for this one, it’s much the same. All the things I typically love about Body Butters are present in this one. It’s very long-lasting, soft, creamy, actually pretty to look at too! It smells like sweetened cranberry. There’s a certain tartness to it, but it’s not overwhelming. I really like the scent, but it’s not my favorite. The body butters really are just amazing on their own. Receiving this as a gift, whether from The Body Shop or someone else, would make me very happy. And I am. 🙂
I can’t tell you how excited I was when I received the UPS package and felt how heavy it was. I thought to myself “Gosh that’s heavy! I wonder what they put in there!” So, I’m so happy to tell you that not only did they send me a full-size Body Butter, they also sent me a full size Shower Gel in the same scent! I tried it today. It has the exact same scent, so if you buy one, you won’t be surprised if you choose to get the other as well. It lathers great, works well, and is comparable to their other shower gels, performance wise. I think that the shower gels and the Body Butters are just some of the best products that The Body Shop makes. Pair them with the Tea Tree Oil products for skin care and you basically have my favorite products in your collection.
If you’re interested, the Shower Gel retails for $8, and the Body Butter retails for $20, but there’s a sale going on right now, plus the Frosted Cranberry line is limited edition, so pick these up while you can! I’m very interested in trying the Frosted Cranberry Body Scrub, what would you like to try? What do you think about the Body Butters? Love ’em or hate ’em I’d love to hear from you!
I must first admit that I’m a little spoiled when it comes to brushes. I love makeup brushes and have quite a few sets of them. I think that makeup is art, and in order to improve and perfect the practice of makeup application you must have the proper tools at your disposal, so I have invested in some core pieces and have tried numerous brands to that regard. My favorite brushes are my Mac brushes. They range in price from around $20 to about $40. They’re worth every penny and on top of doing a fantastic job, they also make me feel like a pro! Ok, I know that’s not super tangible, but I kind of love it.
The Body Shop’s brushes come in an adorable travel bag that would fit some extra goodies of you were so inclined. I would definitely take these on vacation with me, using the extra space in the bag for cosmetics. I love the bag. It has adorable little phrases on it. And it has a pocket and slots that the brushes fit into.
I used the brushes today to do my makeup, and I wanted to give my honest take on them. I like the design. They’ve got this conical shape to them that is quite nice and they have a decent weight to them as well. The concealer/ lip brush, face brush and shadow brush all have very soft synthetic fiber bristles, and feel very nice on the skin. I used the face brush to do face powder and I felt like I had a hard time grabbing enough for full coverage. I think this brush would work great for highlighting, bronzer or anything else that you want to build. I used the lip/ concealer brush for concealer and it worked well for application, and I blended it out with a different brush. It worked well, but it wasn’t amazing to me. Maybe it would work better as a lip brush. I have a retractable one that I really like, so I think I’ll keep this one for concealer. I used the eye shadow brush for my crease and am most impressed with this one. This one actually will be replacing the brush I normally do my crease with: it picked up product with ease, was easy to use, and was effective at packing the shadow. I really liked this one. The brow brush worked well, but the lash brush has plastic bristles, and like I said: I’m spoiled. I have this fabulous Tweezerman one that has a metal brush and it kind of works amazing. This one worked OK, but it didn’t impress me. Over all, I would actually say that for sure this set is worth the money and right now The Body Shop is having a holiday sale where you can pay $25 with your $30 order for the set- so that makes it even more tempting, but apart from the shadow brush, I wasn’t ‘wowed’ by any of these. I hope you’ve found this review helpful. Thanks for reading!!
It’s time for the next instalment of Body Shop product reviews. I did my first one a few months ago when they started sending me free stuff to give my opinion on, here. This month I was excited to see that I would be reviewing nail polish. Nail polish is my thing. I love doing my nails and I love having all the unique shades. I like doing amateur nail art and putting stickers on my nails. Before they sent me my colour, which is called: Red My Mind, they had me do a survey to find my “Happy Colour,” which can be found by clicking here. I like my happy colour, it’s bold, like me.
Like I said: I love nail polish:
My nail polish collection
I really enjoyed this formula and they can sell people like me on things like: “Formaldehyde & Toluene Free.” They don’t make many claims about this product other than that it comes in 24 “feel-good” shades, is “enriched with Marula oil, 100% vegan, nail-loving” and finally, a claim that is testable that it is “quick-dry” and “high gloss.” I would agree with both of those claims. This formula impressed me and I almost wish that The Body Shop were more boastful. Not only is the formula quick-drying and nice & shiny- it also applies fairly opaquely on the first coat. I put two coats, but mostly out of tradition- in fact I noticed little difference between one and two coats. I also loved the brush. It was thick and easy to maneuver making application simple and intuitive. I can be rather messy sometimes, and I found that my blunders were mitigated while using this brush, so I didn’t get as much on my fingers as normal. Still did though, of course.
The colour is very pretty and I would say a classy, classic red that leans on the coral side. I’m going to enjoy this manicure and I will let y’all know if I end up finding this polish chippy or otherwise less than satisfactory, but for now, I have to say I’m relatively impressed and I will be giving it 5 stars. I think that the $8 price point is very fair, considering the performance and compared to other brands I like such as OPI and China Glaze which cost between 10 and 12 dollars. The other reason I think it’s fair is because The Body Shop often holds 40% off sales, which would bring the price down to a level where I would be tempted to try ALL the shades! I have a ton of nail polish already, but I’m glad to be adding “Red My Mind” to my wall of polish. If you want to buy some you can find it here.
Pretty Polish! Messy application by me 🙂
UPDATE: It’s been about 2 days and I only have a slight chip on one of my nails on my dominant hand, so I’d say this stuff is pretty good. Particularly considering that I forgot to put on a top coat.
UPDATE: It’s been 4 days, and it’s pretty chippy. I am not disappointed, since many of my other polishes would have chipped about as much by now, but I wouldn’t call this formula particularly long-lasting. I would say I got an average amount of wear out of this application.
Hello everyone! It’s time for another instalment of NEW Body Shop Product Reviews! The Body Shop recently started sending me things to review and this month they sent me “Drops of Youth Eye Concentrate.” I’ve been using this for two weeks, one to two times daily, because I wanted to give a full and honest review. Let’s see what the product information says about it:
Smoothes the appearance of lines around the eyes
Appearance of eye bags seems reduced
Eyes appear less tired
Innovative cooling roller ball pump applicator
Partner with bestselling Drops of Youth™ Concentrate for a youth-enhancing boost
Let’s tackle these one by one like I did last time! *Un*fortunately, I don’t have lines around my eyes *yet* (knock on wood!), so I can’t speak to this claim. I would definitely agree that eye bags in the morning are reduced, but I think it’s more the applicator (it’s metal) than the product itself. The eyes do appear less tired once those pesky bags are gone!
That said, I didn’t love the metal applicator. It was cold and I feel like I’m ultra sensitive to the cold and even though it does work, I’m not inclined to put it under my eyes in the morning when I’m still groggy. Some people said that they loved that it “woke them up,” but I am not that type of girl. I used it “as directed,” up until this point so that I could write this review, but in the future, I intend to squirt some of the product on my finger and apply it that way.
With that out of the way: I really like the product that is inside the container. It smells, sweet and light. If you read my blog, you may recall that I do not like heavily scented things on my face, and this scent is slight and therefore pleasant in my opinion. I think that this would actually be a great ‘overall’ serum and I might end up using it all over my face, but I was not really impressed with the packaging. I’m giving it 3 stars.
I wanted to take a couple of pictures of the applicator to show the metal rollerball construction. It’s well-made, not cheap-feeling at all.
I think that maybe if I were older, I might like this product more, but I don’t have any of the issues it claims to treat, so it’s difficult for me to review it based on that criteria. Overall- I love the Body Shop, but this product was not for me.
Hello everyone! I’ve been on vacation, but I’m back now and I have another review for you. The Body Shop has kindly chosen to gift me some of their products, and as I mentioned last time- I am excited to be able to review some products from one of my favorite companies. This month they gave me their new “Instablur” primer to try. I’ve used it a few times. Immediately, I noticed that it reminded me of Smashbox’s Photo Finish primer. Upon inspection, they both have similar application. The Body Shop one is slightly more robust (thicker) and has a light scent. While the Smashbox one is thinner, with no scent.
I had a lot of fun comparing this to other primers I own. I went through my makeup drawers and grabbed every primer I could find. This primer bears little similarity to Boscia’s Skin Perfecting primer, Sephora’s Anti-Shine Foundation Primer, or Laura Mercier’s Foundation Primer. These all apply “wetter,” and as more of a moisturizer than the Body Shop’s Instablur and the primers I will be comparing to it.
I also found that Ulta’s Professional Matte Prime applied similarly. It has the most shine to it, but the ingredients are very similar to those in the Smashbox Primer. (The first three ingredients are exactly the same, and there are other ingredients listed that are also the same further into the lists) I didn’t find that it had much of a scent either. For reference, the ingredients and other information about the Ulta primer and the Smashbox primer can be found by clicking the links in this sentence.
The Body Shop’s Instablur is an effective primer. It applies a little thicker than other primers, but reduces to a thin, matte finish. You don’t need a lot, just put a little on your finger and keep rubbing it in until it goes smooth. It’s thick at first, but it will blend into your skin for that matte finish we all love. I used it a few times under my makeup, and I can definitively say that it did not break me out. I’ve had issues with liquid makeup items causing breakouts in the past and that didn’t happen with Instablur. (Thank Goodness!) On The Body Shop’s website it says that this primer is supposed to do 5 things:
Shine Controlling 12h
Reduces appearance of pores
Blemish Hiding
Complexion Unifying
Make-up Extending
Let’s tackle the list, shall we? I don’t have issues with shine or sweating, so I really can’t say whether this was effective at controlling shine. I can say that it applies matte, but I can’t speak to its shine-controlling abilities. It definitely reduced the appearance of my pores. I would say that this one performs the best at that and at complexion “unifying.” I think “complexion unifying” is a silly thing to call evening out your skin tone, but nevertheless this did accomplish that. I think that reducing the appearance of pores, and evening out your skin tone begets the fact that it will also hide blemishes. So check “yes” on that one as well. I have some issues with white heads and other smaller blemishes, I think that a concealer would work best to hide larger flaws, but this works well for small inconsistencies in the skin. As far as “Make-up extending” goes, I just can’t be 100% sure. I wear good quality makeup that is designed to last and I also use Urban Decay’s Makeup Setting Spray to keep my makeup from moving. I’ve had exceptional experiences with that stuff. So, I can’t say it necessarily helped my makeup stay longer, but I can say that I did not experience any straying or moving of makeup I did apply after using this product.
I have yet to be “wowed” by any primer but so far my favorite things about this one are the scent, the non-greasy application, the matte finish, the fact that it doesn’t break me out (seriously- I’ve had issues!), and the pore/ blemish/ complexion awesome-ifying.
This retails for $22 and goes on sale in Monday, August 25. In the meantime, I found this cute promotional video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejk5uCb3TmI and here’s a picture of the product itself:
I’m super excited to tell y’all about a couple of new things I got the opportunity to try recently. First, I think you know how much I love The Body Shop’s products, as I have discussed their products in past posts. In the new year I decided I wanted to develop a steady skin care routine, and I’ve been a fan of The Body Shop and in particular their Tea Tree Oil line (it has acne prevention/ treatment properties!) for a long time. I’ve branched out and tried other products by them and I guess they noticed that I’m a fan, so they sent me some brand new stuff to review!
Both things they sent me are from their new Wild Argan Oil line. It will be released on their website on Monday, July 28, 2014. Here’s the information that came in my package:
Front page of pamphletInside you can see it’s a 3-step skin care system.The Wild Argan Oil Information’s back page tells us about the fair trade practices The Body Shop engages in with the Targanine Cooperative. To learn more, watch their YouTube Video about this!
The Body Shop sent me the travel sized Wild Argan Oil Body Butter, and it comes in a package like this:
Wild Argan Oil Body Butter
And it looks like this on the inside:
I took this photo to show texture.
Review on the Body Shop’s Wild Argan Oil Body Butter:
I wanted to give y’all a good, solid full review, so I tried this stuff out for a week, to make sure I like it and to let you know how it affects my skin.
Let’s start with first impressions: First off, the packaging is typical, if you’re familiar with the way The Body Shop packages their travel sized Body Butters, it’s the same exact packaging, twist off cap. Once the cap was off, the smell hits you. It’s absolutely divine. I can’t tell you how wonderful this stuff smells, but I honestly wanted to eat it. Thankfully, there’s a little disclaimer on the package that says “unfit for consumption.” I’m glad that was there, otherwise I would have tried to taste it. (Just kidding, but it seriously smells delicious.)
The texture seems a little thicker than my normal Body Butter, Satsuma (Orange)- but like all Body Butters, a little bit goes a long way. I used a dollop about the size of two quarters on both of my lower legs each time I used this. It’s very moisturizing initially and holds well. I used it over night each time and when I woke up in the morning it was apparent that I had used a moisturizing product the night before and had not 100% rubbed off on my sheets like many other moisturizers. Although, that is typical of the Body Butters, as they tend to have more staying powder, than let’s say a Body Milk, of which I had been working through two before being sent these products to try.
Since my favorite videos on YouTube are actually “Empties” videos where the girls post videos reviewing products they’ve used up and say whether or not they will be repurchasing them, I’ll be posting reviews on products that I’ve used up in future posts- they will include one or two Body Milks, and I hope to do a better job of describing the difference.
So, so far it smells amazing, is nice & thick and long lasting. I’ve noticed that my skin is so much softer throughout the day- this is for sure on my “repurchase” list. However, I still have some other Body Butters I want to finish up first, so it may have to wait until I finish a few of them… Not that I’ve run out of this one yet- either, not at all. It’s only been a week 🙂 If you’re curious, I’m a little over a third the way through my sample.
As shown above in the product information, this IS a 3-step system. Since I’m 100% out of my last Body Scrub- which I loved and plan to do a review on in my post about “Empties,”- I will be buying the “Rough Scrub” from this Argan Oil line. It costs $5 less than the one I’m currently using; I hope it smells like the Body Butter.
The second thing The Body Shop sent me was the Wild Argan Oil Radiant Oil for Body and Hair. I’ve mostly been testing this out on my hair as a replacement for the oil I’ve been using normally. So far, I have found that I like the smell, but it’s very faint, so if you prefer products that have a light scent, you may prefer this to a more heavily scented hair oil. I flip flop- sometimes I like things to be heavily fragranced, sometimes I don’t. It sometimes changes with my mood, but usually depends on the type of product. For example, I prefer that my night cream be lightly fragranced, if it smells like anything at all. Meanwhile, I love a heavily fragranced body lotion.
Here is what they sent me:
Radiant Oil
The consistency is exactly what you might expect. It’s simply the consistency of a natural, nut oil. It’s also quite light, and not nearly as thick as other hair oils I’ve tried. This worked great on my ends, it kept the frizzies at bay and I was able to obtain really pretty curls, which was a surprise, since my hair is typically unmanageable. I wouldn’t say it’s a miracle treatment, but my hair looked MUCH healthier than normal and I was able to wear it naturally without using heat products each time I used this product. You know, in public and everything. The only thing I don’t love about this product is the dispensing mechanism. Most of my other oils have flip caps, making it easy to get a lot of product (I have a lot of hair!) and this one is a spray. I think I’ll be removing the cap, to ease application for next time. However unique the spray mechanism, I can’t deny the results. And they are impressive- at least for me. I can’t get over how I can actually wear my hair down without heat styling after using this product and I was able to do it with a little dry shampoo on second day hair as well.
This line will be released on Monday July 28, 2014
I just want to provide a list, with links of all the products offered within this new Wild Argan Oil line, along with prices
Anyways, I hope this review helped you. If you have any questions about something I didn’t cover here, please leave them in the comments below! If you too have tried this tell me what you think about my review! Do you agree/ disagree? I’d love to know!
#QueenOfOils
UPDATE!!! Oh my goodness, well, it’s been a month (July 21, 2014) and here I am again. It’s August 22 for the record. I REALLY couldn’t wait to try that scrub, but I waited until there was a sale anyways 🙂 and bought it. I’ve used it at least 3 or 4 times now and I really love it. I’m so glad I bought it. I was hoping that it would smell like the body butter and it does. It’s gorgeous in that regard. I love the exfoliation that I get from this product but I want to let you know that this isn’t your typical sugar scrub. There are shells in this and they can be abrasive. Personally, I love it, but I don’t think that anyone who has sensitive skin would like it. Of course, you can always take a chance and return if you’re not loving it- or give it to someone who might like it. The Body Shop seems to have a decent return policy, although I have zero experience with it- I usually love the stuff I buy from there 😉
Anyways, it smells exactly like the body butter- so you shan’t be disappointed. It works well as an exfoliant and the best part is that the argan oil leaves your skin feeling hydrated afterwards.
I just really love it. I even like it better than the last scrub I had and that’s saying a lot because I LOVED that one. This is definitely on my “repurchase” list!
Packaging.Interior product photo
If you liked the Body Butter, I would definitely give this a try.
