Soft & Smooth: Philosophy Hope is Not Enough Replenishing Body Lotion
Philosophy When Hope is Not Enough Replenishing Body Lotion ($35.00 for 8 oz.) is a lightly scented hydrating body moisturizer. I find it hard to describe the scent beyond light, softly sweet, and that it disappears within an hour. The lotion itself is light to medium in texture–definitely not a heavy cream–and applies evenly. It sinks in within five minutes, and there’s no sticky residue left behind, which is a huge plus for me. The lotion kept my legs and arms moisturized and smooth all day long, and it really helped my scaly legs look more like glam gams in just two days of repeated use (just ’cause my legs can be really dry).
Overall, I really loved the way this product worked–it delivered on all it was advertised to do–but I find it short on value. Philosophy products tend to give customers good value for their dollar, but this one doesn’t. I just feel like I’m running through this product faster than the average body lotion. For the price tag, I’d expect it to last me more than a few weeks.
- Product: 9/10
- Value: 6/10
- Ease of Use: 8/10
- Packaging: 8/10
Recommendation: This product is amazing for anyone who needs to sooth and hydrate dry skin–legs, arms, what-have-you–but it doesn’t come cheap.
Availability: Philosophy.com, Sephora.com
Have you checked out Philosophy’s body lotion? What was your take?
True Blue Naked Cotton Dress Shea Light Body Lotion
($15.00 for 6.7 oz.) is a lightweight body lotion that keeps moderate-to-dry skin well-hydrated and feeling silky soft. In a market saturated with body creams and souffles, a body lotion is always a welcome addition. The product absorbs into skin quickly, and it is easily spread over each part of your body–you don’t have to keep going back for more.
One of my favorite parts about this body lotion was the clean, lightweight scent. It is light enough to be able to layer it with your favorite perfume without a funny combination, but yet it is still detectable if you choose to wear it alone. If you know what B&BW’s “Cotton Blossom” smells like, it is similar with the same soft cotton-ish scent, but it is much, much lighter and more subtle smelling. I’m a big fan of clean scents myself, so this one is a keeper!
Slowly but surely, I am becoming a big fan of B&BW’s True Blue Spa line. (Hello, anyone remember their Just a Minute Manicure Scrub?!)
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Just in time for summer, Victoria’s Secret launched a limited edition range of Beauty Rush products called Pool Party. I tried out the Lemonita Body Chiller Glimmer Cream ($12.00 for 5.3 oz.), which is a lightly sweetened lemony scent — kind of reminds me of a lemon-based margarita. It comes in a pump bottle, which makes it convenient and spill-proof (aka great to toss into a beach bag or luggage). There’s actually a little “stopper” included, though I just tossed mine out (I know I would lose it within a few days anyway — that’s me, always losing things!).
It’s a lightly silver-shimmered body cream with the texture of a medium to heavy cream, definitely not thin like a lotion. This is a product I’d use mostly on my legs, arms, and shoulders for a soft glimmer. I found that it really is subtle, because there is not a super noticeable shimmer/sheen from this product. It moisturizes well enough for regular skin, but if you have super dry, scaly dragon legs like me, you might find it’s not enough as a regular, day-to-day moisturizer, and more of a little-black-dress accessory. The scent lingers while you wear it, but it isn’t overpowering. Just kind of a light, sweet lemony scent you notice every so often throughout the day.
Victoria’s Secret often has these on sale or special, so the best time to pick them up is then. I checked their website, but I didn’t see these available online any more, which means they probably sold out online–I don’t know if they’ll be restocking them, though. In-store may be another story, so if you’re a Beauty Rush fan, check there first. If you like the concept, but you don’t need Lemonita as the scent, the regularly available Body Glimmers are still online and are currently on sale for 3 for $25.
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Lavanila The Healthy Body Butter ($25.00 for 8 oz.) is fast becoming a staple body lotion in my household. I love the Vanilla Lavender scent best, because it works well for both daytime and night time. I think I might have a slight preference towards night time, because the lavender scent is soothing and relaxing–perfect for getting relaxed and into sleep-mode.
Although the majority of my body isn’t dry, my legs tend to get dry quickly–if I don’t moisturize them every day, they get to scaly within a week flat. I’m not the best at remembering (or bothering, because let’s face it, I can be lazy!) to put moisturize on every day, so I tend to prefer moisturizers that are richer and more hydrating, so I can get away with missing a few days here and there without suffering the lizardy consequences. The Healthy Body Butter is an extremely thick and rich body butter in a squeeze-tube form, which is definitely a huge plus. I prefer squeeze tubes for lotions, because I feel like I get more control out of it. (A lot of body butters tend to come in jars/tubs.)
It uses 100% pure shea and cocoa butters along with goji berry and kakadu plum (antioxidants). Like the rest of Lavanila’s products, it doesn’t contain parabens, sulfates, synthetic dyes/fragrances, petro-chemicals, phthalates, or triclosan. The body butter applies easily, because you can slide and blend it even on dry skin. It dries down within five minutes, and my skin feels hydrated all day long. No greasy feeling, no sticky aftermath. Just smooth, moisturized skin that thanks me over and over again for not neglecting it.
I recommend this product for…
Anyone with a propensity towards dry skin
Anyone who loves vanilla-themed scents
Anyone who is sensitive to chemicals
Anyone who is looking for natural alternatives
All ages, skin tones, and skin types
Availability: Sephora.com
Philosophy Unconditional Love Firming Body Emulsion (16 oz. for $34) is a ridiculously well-hydrating moisturizer for your body with the same, blackberry ‘n vanilla sweetness as Unconditional Love Eau de Toilette I wrote about earlier. Again, despite being a rather sweet and fruity scent (with a good dose of warm vanilla), it’s not cloying or overly sweet. It also doesn’t turn once it’s applied to skin.
The Firming Body Emulsion has a “synergistic blend of vitamins E and C provides antioxidant protection and firming properties to help tone the skin.” That’s fancy talk for ingredients that are supposed to help your skin look better. I don’t really buy into firming body products–they take a long time to work, you really have to work it in (a lot of the “firming” effect comes from all your hard work!), and apply it at least twice a day. It’d be nice if it did anything, but I really just like it and use it for the likeable scent and how moisturizing it is.
I also like to use this to layer with the fragrance to help bring out the scent a bit more, since both are lightly scented. One bottle will definitely last me several months of everyday usage — I’d say I use two pumps per leg, and then another three pumps for the rest of me. Each “pump” of product isn’t very much, either.
I will say that the vitamin E inclusion is nice, because vitamin E can help reduce some skin concerns, though. It’s the olive and macadamia nut oils and shea butter that I care about, since those three together are one whopper of a hydrator!
Pacifica Hawaiian Ruby Guava Body Lotion
($22.00 for 16 fl. oz.) is a recent product addition to Pacifica’s product line-up. They are, perhaps, more known for their amazingly scented and long-lasting candles, but they’ve been slowly introducing scented beauty products to coordinate with their full array of scents.
Pacifica as a brand will always hold a special place in my heart, because they were one of the first brands to support Temptalia. It helps that I’m never disappointed whenever I try their products! (Even my parents–including my Dad, who hates all things scented–love Pacifica candles!)
The Hawaiian Ruby Guava Body Lotion is exactly what tropical paradise smells like–or at least what scent evokes images of sandy beaches, pina coladas, and a hot cabana boy. You can easily note the coconut, as well as the underlaying guava and pomelo–kind of a tropical fruit scent without being cloying or overly sweet. As a body lotion, it moisturizers and hydrates my scaly legs well. To be honest, I love the scent so much I’d still use this even if it moisturized just adequately.
The Body Lotion contains several ingredients designed to better your skin. It has chamomile extract, safflower oil, shea butter, and sweet almond oil–all ingredients that work together to give you soothed, supple skin. For those looking for more natural beauty products, Pacifica’s Body Lotions are formulated without GMO, parabens, phthalates, sulfates, synthetic dyes, and triclosan. It is a 100% vegan product, and it is not tested on animals.
So if I can’t make it to tropical paradise this summer, at least I can blend myself a non-alcoholic pina colada, lotion up with this, and close my eyes and pretend!
If you love the scent as much as me, you might want to check out the full range of Hawaiian Ruby Guava scented products, which includes Solid Perfume ($9.00), Body Butter ($15.00), Body Wash ($18.00), Soy Candle ($16.00), Travel Set ($14.00).
Ingredients: Deionized Water, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin (Vegetable), Stearic Acid (Vegetable), Glyceryl Stearate (Vegetable Emulsifier), Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Stearyl Alcohol (Grain), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Polysorbate 60, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Potassium Sorbate, Chamomilla Recutita Matricaria (Chamomile Flower) Extract, Sorbitol (Natural Sugar), Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Dimethicone, Carbomer, Sodium PCA, Triethanolamine, Citric Acid, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A), L-Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C).
