The Bodyshop's Shea Body Butter; An Experience in Luxury

The Body Shop is widely known in the U.S., the United Kingdom and Canada as providing naturally inspired hair and body products in shops across these countries. Their make-up line is a bit spendy, but I love trying out their body products, which often come in small and affordable sample sizes.

A friend and I stopped in one day to check out a special sale they were having on scrubs and body butters.

"Oooh, I love these." Marissa squealed, piling a cornucopia of products into her shopping basket.

"Olive?" I picked up one of the selections, giving it a tentative sniff.

"You don't want that one." she said, grabbing the small, circular box from my hand. "Try this."

The label read 'Papaya'. I gave it a quick whiff, and put it down hastily. The smell was overly sweet and very fruity. I am sensitive to fragrances, and I knew I couldn't go about smelling like a tropical orchid. "Nah.." I said.

"Mango?"

"No."

"Hemp?"

"Really?" I grabbed this container with interest and read the label. I gave it the smell test but found it too earthy, although the idea of a hemp body butter intrigued me.

"If only they had vanilla."

"Oh, here. This is almost as good as vitamin E."

Knowing my fondness for the moisturizing capabilities of L'Occitane's shea butter hand lotion, Marissa pressed a small, cream colored circle labeled 'Shea Body Butter' into my hand. It had a nutty looking label on the top. I smoothed the lid opened and breathed it in. Heavenly... a very light fragrance wafted up. I allowed her to also talk me into some coconut exfoliating scrub, and then we made our purchases and headed out.

It was maybe a week later that I first found time to try out my new products. I took a long, luxurious bath, and used the body scrub with a wash cloth to gently exfoliate.

Wrapped in a towell I gently applied the body butter to my bare legs and arms. It was very cool to the touch, and first had the appearance of tanning lotion as it did not absorb quickly and left a light sheen to the skin. It was slow drying, but the cool substance was very soothing over dry and sensitive areas. I felt very luxurious after the body butter was applied to every inch of exposed skin.

This product does require you to have a little time on your hands when applying it. It's slow drying tendency would leave skirts and slacks sticky if you dressed before drying. My skin felt wonderfully soft and refreshed after using it, and when I washed my hands later, the soap didn't dry my palms because applying it had caused rich moisturizers to absorb into my hands. This alone was worth the $10 cost of a medium container.

When Marissa and I go shopping again, I think I will branch out and see what the other body butter experiences are like. Maybe, for kicks, I'll even try 'Mango'.