LUSH Vanilla Jam Shower Gel just in time for Christmas...

At this time of year going in a LUSH store you may wonder, is this a cosmetics or a candy shop?

Nose will say cosmetics but eyes will be totally confused, really!

See what I mean?

The reason I went in was for this shower gel below called Rose Jam (Confiture de Rose)! Vanilla and rose scented, I just had to try it! 

Lovely! Positively lovely! The fragrance is exactly what I was expecting and a pleasure to use. The gel is not too thick, not to thin, just perfect and lathers nicely.

Made with a vanilla pod infusion, goji berry juice and argan oil, it's a very nice, mild formula. Now does it make my skin softer? Not really. I got it for the smell and I'm glad it's not overly drying. I still need to use either an oil or body lotion afterward.

As much a I enjoy it, I find it's a little expensive for a shower gel. This size here, 250 ml goes for $19.95 CAD. At least I know it'll last a while since at the moment I already have five different ones that I alternate.

What can I say, I like variety!

I have to say, I've never been much of a LUSH fan, I find their shops a bit messy looking and so prefer The Body Shop but when Catherine was little and took baths, I used to buy some of their offerings for she loved the smells and there was one that made the bath water pink! My not so girly girl liked that one the most. :)

If you have someone on your Christmas list who's a bath lover definitely make a stop by LUSH. The bath bombs, as shown above, are just too cute for word and will put a smile on the recipient's face for sure.

Rose Jam is here only for Christmas time so if you want to indulge you better act fast or wait till next year.


Do you keep only one or like to alternate shower gels?

Recent Purchases from Weleda & Cake Beauty / Review

Roaming the beauty department at Winners last Friday I spotted these. I figured, they would bring a bit of freshness into my routine especially since on that day it was hot, really hot! Today, not so much! I don't know what's happening but May started with a Bang but since Saturday I could swear we're back early April! Today is the worst and my daughter had to wear a light winter coat this to go to school!

Summer will come, I know it will...

Weleda Citrus Creamy Body Wash

Super fresh, creamy so non drying, little is needed. A nice alternative for mornings where I find my skin a bit dryer and don't want to use The Body Shop's Pink Grapefruit Shower Gel. I'm still in the citrus family, aren't I? Revitalising and energizing, great way to wake up in the morning.

Regular price, $14.99, Winners, $5.99.

Ingredients (Weleda):
Water (Aqua), Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Coco-Glucoside, Alcohol, Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Glycerin, Chondrus Crispus (Carrageenan), Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Oil, Xanthan Gum, Lactic Acid, Fragrance (Parfum)*, Limonene*, Linalool*,Citral*.
* from natural essential oils


Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Body Lotion

Described as regenerating nourishing care for mature skin, this is not the reason why I purchased it. I was curious about the texture and the fragrance. Light, it penetrates quickly but the smell at first is surprising. To me, herbal and not so pleasant. Fortunately it changes and about 20 minutes or so after application it becomes more sweet leaving behind the "greenness". Despite the light feel I was pleasantly surprised by the moisture it provided my skin. I didn't need to use much and my skin still felt supple by morning. Love the convenient pump.

Regular price, $20.00, Winners, $9.99.

Ingredients (Weleda):
Water (Aqua), Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Alcohol, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil Unsaponifiables, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate SE,Cetearyl Alcohol, Fragrance (Parfum)*, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil,Panicum Miliaceum (Millet) Seed Extract, Xanthan Gum, Cetearyl Alcohol, Limonene*,Linalool*, Citronellol*, Benzyl Benzoate*, Benzyl Salicylate*, Geraniol*, Citral*,Coumarin*, Farnesol*.
* from natural essential oils


Cake Beauty Lemon Chiffon Velveteen Hand Cream

Lemon? I just had to get one! Fresh fragrance that reminds me of lemon meringue. This cream surprised me, excellent moisture, penetrates quickly and the odor that lingers doesn't annoy me like so many other hand products have in the past. For some reason, I don't mind a strong fragrance in body products when used in the morning but on hands it's another matter. It seems it's the only thing I smell and so I steer clear of perfumed hand creams. This one is just perfect.

I don't know if this product is still available. Winners had many for $5.99 but I couldn't find it on Cake Beauty website. Some, if not all (I'm not sure) of their offerings are available at Murale. Their other hand creams sell for $18.00 but I got this one for $5.99 at Winners. 


I'm very pleased with my purchases and especially about the fact that the prices where so low. Next time you go to Winners have a look at their beauty department, you never know what you'll find.

Click on the picture to visit Winners

Got any good deals recently?

The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Body Butter & Pink Grapefruit Eau de Toilette

Recently I've fallen hard for pink grapefruit! I've always loved citrus fragrances and simply could not be able to live without lemons! The smell and the taste of that fruit takes me to the South of France, Italy, Greece and so many other places. In the middle of Winter, using lemons, brings me back to Summer even if outside it feels like Siberia.

Memories...

As much as I love lemons, I could not use it as a fragrance. I guess in my case it would be lemon overload. Not the case with pink grapefruit which takes me back to Miami. As a teen I would spend the month of January there with my Mom. Every morning the kitchen would be filled with the smells of coffee, toasts and grapefruits.

I have a tendency to associate fragrances with colors. Miami is the capital of pastels, candy colors that make everyone happy even if some are too blasé to admit it. One of its predominant color is pink. There is a lot of it in Miami and if you look closer, think about it for a minute, you'll realise that the most popular shade of pink featured is, grapefruit pink. Didn't you ever notice? Even the flamingos are grapefruit pink!

Disappointed by the fact that the Pink Grapefruit Puree Body lotion's fragrance didn't last on me, I figured why not try the Body Butter from the same line?

I had a good pretext to go back to the store. My daughter has developed a liking for their Coconut Shower Cream and since we where almost out and she rarely asks for this type of thing, why not get her a new one?

Of course The Body Shop had specials, they always do! Did I take advantage of them? Of course!

Pink Grapefruit Body Butter

Notice the color of the container? Miami! Inside, a beautiful soft pink cream which is on the thick side when you put it on but it melts in rapidly and doesn't feel greasy at all, at least not for me. Compared to the body purée, this does give good moisture so someone with dry skin would appreciate it far more.

I don't use it everyday, I use on days when I need "happy notes". The subtle fragrance lasts I would say a good 4 hours and no, you don't smell like a giant grapefruit! After the initial freshness it changes into a nice discrete citrus smell.

Pink Grapefruit Eau de Toilette

Just let me say that I love these little bottles. I love their shapes and their sizes are perfect if you want to carry one in your purse.

Pink Grapefruit smells like, well, pink grapefruit! I decided to get one in hopes to make the odor last longer. On it's own, with my skin's chemistry, it lasts barely a few hours. Layered over the body butter, about 4 hours, the same as the cream alone but it's slightly more intense.

Would I recommend The Body Shop's Pink Grapefruit offerings? Yes!

If you like citrus fragrances, you will definitely fall for these. Lovely and fresh, it's uplifting, happy!

The downside being that the fragrance of either doesn't last more than 3 to 4 hours, on days I do wear it, again, I find it easy to keep the eau de toilette in my purse.

A word of warning...

If you reapply the eau de toilette during the day, be careful where you spray it. In Winter this is not an issue but since Summer is fast approaching, we will be outside more and it could cause skin discoloration so you may want to keep a little body butter on you and keep the eau de toilette for evenings. For this you could simply recycle a small cream jar to reapply a little on neck and wrists.

If you don't have any small jars, upon purchase, ask The Body Shop for one of their small sample containers,  I'm certain that they will graciously give you one.

Oh and don't forget to get a Pink Grapefruit Shower Gel!

Lastly, if ever you get the chance, Miami is a great city to visit, South Beach is soooo beautiful... If it's not on your life's itinerary, you could always put pink flamingos and palm trees stickers to your bathroom walls. Just don't forget these pink grapefruit offerings. It'll be complete!

Oh and no, pink flamingos on your lawn will not do, please think about the neighbours!


Pink Grapefruit Body Butter ingredients:
Water, Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Seed Oil, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Butter, Cyclomethicone, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), PEG-100 Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Lanolin Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance, Limonene, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Xanthan Gum, Linalool, Benzyl Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, Tocopherol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Citral, Sodium Hydroxide, Citronellol, Geraniol, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Yellow 6, Red 33.

The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Shower Gel & Pink Grapefruit Puree Body Lotion / Review

Spring will get here, eventually!

Even if it's still a little cold out there's no reason not to enjoy lighter Springy/Summery scents.

Last week I went to The Body Shop to get a hair product I had heard good things about. While I was there, I figured I might as well get a replacement for my almost empty Cocoa Butter Creamy Body Wash, a favourite of mine. Of course they had specials so I purchased a bottle of the Cocoa Butter Hand and Body Lotion. Since they where all at $8.00 each, why not treat myself to something new and uplifting?

Dry Winter Skin? Start With A Gentle Cleanser.

Winter can be brutal and we all know that moisturizing is the key to soft skin but sometimes it seems we have to constantly reapply to get the results we want. Have you thought about the cleanser you use in the shower? Believe me, in Winter, your watermelon shower gel or you're husband's Irish Spring just won't do. If you don't want your skin to feel like itchy sand paper you may want to start with a gentler body cleanser.

Here are a few suggestion you may want to consider. These options are gentle, non stripping and will definitely help make your moisturizer of choice more effective.


Body cleansers I like...

Dove Beauty Bar 
Review here.

Avène Cold Cream Ultra Rich Cleansing Bar 
More expensive than the Dove Beauty Bar this cleansing bar is amazingly rich and non stripping. Had it not been for the fact that I received one as a gift I probably would have overlooked it. Using this was the reason I gave Dove a try after so many years or using shower gels. As with Dove, if you don't have any particular skin issue, you can use it on your face as well. This is a great option for travel since it's in solid form. I think it sells for about $12.00.

Aveeno Skin Relief Body Wash
Creamy, with or without fragrance and not drying. Very affordable and at under $10.00 it's worth a try.

The Body Shop Creamy Cleansers
They have several options my favorites, Cocoa butter and Coconut. I love the smell of both. A little trick if you purchase one, unscrew to top completely to get the product out. It's much easier than trying to press the cleanser out through the tiny hole in the cap. Review of Cocoa Butter cleanser and moisturizer here.

A-Derma Sensifluid Extra-Rich Foaming Gel
This is a beautiful skin care line for anyone with sensitive skin. Not well known but available in drugstores. I'm now wondering why I haven't reviewed this before. It's a lovely soap-free formula good for anyone intolerant to soap. It does have a light scent if fragrance is an issue.

These are the ones I've tried and liked the most but of course if you have a brand of choice, a product that you're already using with good results, keep using. I know they can be quite tempting but try to avoid over fragranced cleansers. I find them to be harsh in general. Once or twice a week is fine but for everyday they tend to be drying after a while for me anyway.

Picture credit: All Along the Injured Coast

The Body Shop's Cocoa Butter Body Lotion & Creamy Body Wash

Sometimes I feel that these products have been around forever when in reality The Body Shop appeared in Canada only in 1988. I remember at one point reading somewhere that Princess Diana used the Cocoa Butter Body Lotion and I guess it's what pushed me to try it. Lame I know but what can I say, I was pretty young back then and like millions of others, under the Princess's spell.

I don't remember how much I paid for the body lotion but I do recall that I was pleased at how affordable The Body Shop products where. Quite a surprise actually when you think that the Princess could afford pretty much anything. 

The Cocoa Butter Hand & Body Lotion is light, penetrates quickly into the skin and doesn't feel sticky. I particularly like it in summer but it's nice to use in winter as well for daytime. The smell, well this will sound funny to some, but it reminds me of caramel more than chocolate. Very soft and comforting. I don't use it every day but I always have a bottle.

The Cocoa Butter Creamy Body Wash is another favorite. Non stripping and creamy, it's a smart option  especially in winter when we don't want to dry up our skin and it has the same lovely smell as the body lotion. When you use a shower puff it turns into a beautiful creamy lather.

Cocoa Butter Creamy Body Wash, $8.00 / 250 ml

Cocoa Butter Hand & Body Lotion, $12.00 / 250 ml

What's nice about these is that you can purchase small sizes to try and see if you like them. I don't remember how much they go for but if my memory serves me right I think you can get 3 small sizes for the price of 2, $10.00 or so. Again, I'm not sure since the last time I visited The Body Shop was in August. 

That was when I bought a small size of the Cocoa Butter Body Butter. I don't know why but until then I had never tried it. I know it's been out for a long time but I was never tempted by it. 

Good thing I got the small size! Although it does provide deep moisture and is excellent for dry patches, I just can't get past the fragrance! It smells chemical with only a slight reminder of the caramel/chocolate odor. So again, good thing I got the small size.

You will notice that the reviews below show that the Body Butter is the most well liked of the 3 products mentioned today. This shows that we are all different and that reviews are just an indicator, a way to get extra information. I'm only telling you about my personal experience.

Cocoa Butter Body Butter, $19.00 / 250 ml

Reviews:

MakeupAlley: 3.7 / 5 lippies for 38 reviews
There are no reviews on Beauté-test 

Body Lotion Ingredients: 

Water, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Butter, Glycerin, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Ceteth-20, Octyl Palmitate, Steareth-2, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Carbomer, Potassium Sorbate, Methylparaben, Fragrance, Propylparaben, Sodium Hydroxide, Citronellol, Benzophenone-4, Disodium EDTA, Linalool, Geraniol, Amyl Cinnamal, Hydroxycitronellal, Benzyl Salicylate, Limonene, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Benzoate, Isoeugenol, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Farnesol, Citral, Eugenol, Benzyl Cinnamate, Yellow 6, Yellow 5.

Reviews:
MakeupAlley: 3.9 / 5 lippies for 14 reviews
Beauté-test: 3.5 / 5 stars for 45 reviews

Creamy Body Wash Ingredients:

Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, PEG-5 Cocamide, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Coco-Glucoside, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Sodium Cocoa Butter Amphoacetate, Acrylates/Steareth-20 Methacrylate Copolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Hydroxide, Glycerin, Fragrance, Citronellol, Disodium EDTA, Linalool, Tocopherol, Geraniol, Amyl Cinnamal, Hydroxycitronellal, Benzyl Salicylate, Limonene, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Benzoate, Isoeugenol, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Farnesol, Citral, Eugenol, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Cinnamate, Yellow 6, Yellow 5.

Reviews:
MakeupAlley: 4.2 / 5 lippies for 193 reviews
Beauté-test: 4.5 / 5 stars for 165 reviews

Body Butter Ingredients:

Water (Solvent/Diluent), Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil (Emollient/Skin Conditioner), Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Butter (Emollient), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) (Emollient), Glycerin (Humectant), Cyclopentasiloxane (Emollient), Glyceryl Stearate (Emulsifier), PEG-100 Stearate (Surfactant), Cetearyl Alcohol (Emulsifier), Lanolin Alcohol (Stabiliser/Emollient), Phenoxyethanol (Preservative), Fragrance (Fragrance), Methylparaben (Preservative), Propylparaben (Preservative), Xanthan Gum (Viscosity Modifier), Benzyl Alcohol (Preservative), Disodium EDTA (Chelating Agent), Sodium Hydroxide (pH Adjuster), Caramel (Colour), Yellow 5 (Colour).

Fun thing to do, bath puff tutorial