Product Review: Precious Moisturizing Body Lotion and Eau De Parfum

I'm always on the lookout for little inexpensive gift ideas and small purse sized items whenever I'm out shopping and happened to hit on a good one that covered both bases while on a recent CVS excursion.

After picking up my make-up necessities, I wandered over to the gift fragrance section and found a little oblong pink and white striped box containing one of each purse sized 1.65 fl oz. moisturizing body lotion and eau de parfum, inspired by Vera Wang's "Princess" scent.

Price

Yes, I did say inspired by. I'm not typically a knock-off fan, but I only allot my big fragrance spending to Chanel No. 5, Burberry, and Shalimar, so any cheapie purse sized scent I find that actually smells good is a gold mine. Besides, I'll ever forget a comment a guy friend made to me last summer - I had just covered myself in my preferred $18 a bottle Bath and Body Works body splash and body lotion, he leaned in, smelled me and said,

"Are you wearing Herbal Essences?"

"No" I shot back. "It's Bath and Body Works."

"Oh, well you smell like Herbal Essences. You know you could have saved a bunch of money by just buying Herbal Essences."

I vowed then and there never again to pay that much for a cheapie body splash and body lotion.

Anyway, enough of my bitter diatribe, back to the product at hand. Next to the "Precious" box were two others, one inspired by a scent by Victoria Beckham and one by Jessica Simpson. The display boasted a buy two get one free sale, and at $4.99 each it seemed like a good time to give "Precious" a try. I figured, if I don't like it I'm only out $5 and if I do, I can come back and get gifts.

Application Tips

If you really want to get a good idea of what a perfume or body lotion has to offer it's best to apply it right after a fresh shower and with minimal other scented products to interfere. And that's just what I did.

With little else to dissipate the "Precious" scent, I applied the moisturizing body lotion to my hands and arms, and the eau de parfum to my temples, collarbone, back of the neck, behind the ears, wrists, inside of the elbows, and a touch on the hair.

Overall Product Performance

I was pleasantly surprised when I tried the little powder scented combo, not only did it smell great but it lasted for hours even over the wretched and overpowering stench of multiple cigarettes. The fragrance was soft, clean and summery: a powder aroma mixed with a smidgen of citrus (perhaps lime or orange); perfect for warm weather. Both the moisturizing body lotion and the eau de parfum lasted hours before needing re-application.

Product Pluses and Drawbacks

The only drawback I could find was that the lotion was so light that it required a heavy first application, and while not thick and greasy (it's a plus for a summery body lotion to be light, airy, and soak into the skin quickly), it did leave a sheen to the skin which was a bit much for the hands, but the light reflecting qualities of the "Precious" moisturizing body lotion would probably work great on the legs where illumination is preferred

Consumer Reaction/Opinion

This is definitely a product I will buy again, and will most likely gift it as well. I would rather have to douse myself good or re-apply a body lotion than be drenched in grease during warm weather, and at that price, a girl can afford to apply and re-apply at whim. Can't beat that.