BellaSugar

Doing Drugstore: Vaseline Cocoa Butter Smoothing Body Butter

BellaSugar — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:08:14 -0700

Vaseline is about to come out with two additions to its Cocoa Butter line of lotions, and one of them is now on my repeat-buy list. I was able to sample its Cocoa Butter Smoothing Body Butter ($6.99), which will be available in stores any day now. It features a blend of cocoa and shea butters, which gives off a light and pleasant fragrance. For some reason, the scent reminds me of tropical beaches-which isn't a bad thing at all!

Like other body butters, it has a smooth texture and melts from the heat of your body. Unlike some other ones, though, this one doesn't feel greasy. I liked how easily it absorbed into my skin, and more importantly, how little of it is needed to get the job done. I definitely recommend using less product than you think you might need. You really don't need more than about a fingertip's worth to cover an entire leg, which means one eight-ounce container will last for a long time. If you have very dry, difficult-to-moisturize skin, try this out and let me know what you think. I have a feeling you're going to like it.

Product Review: 5th Avenue Bath Co. Exfoliating Body Polish

BellaSugar — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 11:57:18 -0700

Judging by the name, you might expect 5th Avenue Bath Co. to hail from Manhattan's tony Upper East Side. Instead, the bath- and body-product company comes from suburban Columbus. I've been using its Exfoliating Body Polish with Shea Butter ($17.95) for about a month.

First, the good: I love the scent, Black Vetiver Cafe. 5th Avenue Bath Co. describes it as "a woody and ambery blend with a hint of citrus followed by notes of red cedar, sandalwood and musks." My nose isn't sophisticated enough to parse these notes, but lemme tell you, it has the "expensive and fancy, but natural" thing going on. Another plus is that because of the shea butter, coconut oil and jojoba oil, this scrub leaves a soft protective, moisturizing barrier on skin well after the shower. If you have dry skin, this stuff is a lifesaver!

For the rest of my review, read more

The only thing that I don't love about this polish is that it's really not a heavy-duty exfoliant. While I can feel the sugar crystals on my skin, they're not dense enough to give a large-scale sloughing. I like using this stuff right now, when my skin isn't flaky and overly dry-but during the winter months, I'll need a more serious scrub.

Bella Bargain: Up to Half Off at L'Occitane

BellaSugar — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 10:20:25 -0700

Shopping at L'Occitane always makes me feel that-for a few moments, at least-I'm gallivanting around the South of France. Its bath and body products have a bit of a luxurious feel, and many are made with lavender, shea butter harvested in Africa, Provençal olives and other natural ingredients. Right now, prices on 150 products are up to 50% off.

To browse my shopping suggestions and to find out why I recommend them, just read more

' />

Reader Review of the Day: Shea Butter Extra Gentle Soap - Milk

BellaSugar — Mon, 18 May 2009 08:00:22 -0700

Sometimes, simplifying your routine is the way to go. And that's exactly what reader Bellazmom had in mind when she purchased Shea Butter Extra Gentle Soap - Milk ($7). Here's why she is so fond of this extra-gentle cleanser:

I am getting back to the basics of life and trying to buy more natural products. This soap is certainly a keeper. The smell is very mild, but pleasant, and it is very gentle for bar soap. The shea butter leaves my skin very soft. It also lasts a long time, so it is worth the price.

What products are you dying to tell us all about? Share your opinions on the Product Reviews website, and check out other featured reviews while you're at it.

Doing Drugstore: St. Ives Moisturizing In-Shower Exfoliating Body Polish

BellaSugar — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:00:01 -0700

I love body polishes that don't require excess force to work, particularly ones that use sugar, which is gentler on the skin. Over the weekend, I tried out St. Ives Moisturizing In-Shower Exfoliating Body Polish, Oatmeal & Shea Butter ($8), which contains natural sugar crystals for exfoliation, oatmeal to soothe, and shea butter for softer skin. While this polish is a little difficult to scoop out of the jar due to its texture (think of a dense Crisco), once it hits the skin and some water, it almost melts, creating a rich, spreadable lather.

The polish has a sweet almond scent and a finer, more dissolvable grit than the famous invigorating St. Ives Apricot Scrub ($4). Before shaving, I spread a little of the polish on my legs for a smooth, non-irritating result.

I like it for a pedicure, too. After scrubbing my feet with the body polish, I used my beauty shortcut to fake a real pedicure. A little goes a long way with this product, making for an affordable - and effective - drugstore find.

The First Rule of Soap Club Is, You Don't Talk About Soap Club

BellaSugar — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:00:42 -0800

It's hard to believe that Fight Club hit movie screens 10 years ago, but, well, time flies. In a tribute to one of the grossest parts of the plot, Etsy seller SerendipityEight is offering soaps inspired by the movie. Available in Bay Rum and Cool Water scents, they're a convincing knockoff of the soap that Brad Pitt holds on the movie poster. Fortunately, the homage goes only so far; this soap is made with shea butter and glycerin, not human fat. Get yours for $5 if you're so inclined - but move fast, before the copyright cops jump into the ring.

Monday Giveaway! L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream

BellaSugar — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 23:30:00 -0700

Do you, like us, obsessively inspect your skin in the mirror, and at the site of a new blemish, wrinkle,or age spot, lament, "Why? Why me?" Sephora is here to tell you exactly that. From the "whys" to the "hows" to the "what-ifs," they're answering all of your frequently asked skincare questions-even those you're embarassed to ask. Even better, every day we're giving away one product to help you implement their expertise.

First up: My hands are constantly dry. What leaves them soft, not greasy?

The answer: A moisturizing, non-oily hand cream is essential, which is why we're giving away one L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream today! If you haven't tried this stuff, you're seriously missing out. Its formula has 20% African shea butter, which penetrates quickly and makes your hands as soft as they are pretty.

To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment in the comments section below by 5 p.m. PDT / 8 p.m. EDT Monday, July 9, and we'll announce the winner tomorrow when we post the next giveaway. Please, only ONE comment per person; duplicate comments will be discarded, so commenting more than once won't up your chances of winning. You must be a TeamSugar member to comment, so if you're not a member, please register here for an account. For all of the rules and regulations, click here.

Finally, I want to congratulate this weekend's winners:

Sweetheart_450 won Sunday's giveaway for a Sephora $50 Gift Card.
Lindsb won Saturday's giveaway for Clinique Acne Solutions Spot Healing Gel.
Natalya won Friday's giveaway for a Clinique Acne Solutions Clear Skin Kit.

Sabon Goes Organic

BellaSugar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:00:37 -0700

Sabon started out in 1974 with one natural soap handcrafted in a backyard in Israel, and the brand now has shops around the world. Today, it expands into the organic market with its Sabon Organic line.

Even though the "organic" labeling of beauty products (vs. food) often comes under fire for lack of consistency and regulation, this line comes ECOCERT-approved from an international organization that examines organic cosmetics. To be certified, the products must have 10 percent minimum approved organic ingredients, and at least 95 percent of ingredients must be from natural plant sources. In addition, certification requires the absence of synthetic fragrances and dyes, silicones and glycol, petro-chemical and mineral oils, and parabens, and no animal ingredients/testing.

I got a sneak peek and sniff of one of the products from this line. Read my thoughts on the item I tested when you read more.

The Organic Butter Cream, $39 (bottom right), is a rich emollient moisturizer. I can hold the open jar upside and shake it, but the cream stays in! It feels just as thick going onto the skin, but not sticky or greasy. Along with the familiar shea butter, jojoba oil, and aloe leaf juice were other plant extracts like maris sal (dead sea salt), dill extract, and macadamia seed oil. Plus each label lists exactly how much is natural - this item has 98.86 percent total ingredients of natural origin and 82.41 percent from organic farming - and comes in recycled packaging. I'm popping this in my fridge as soon as I get home for a cool Summer treat.

New Product Alert: L'Occitane Anniversary Body Creams

BellaSugar — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:00:53 -0800

L'Occitane is known for its sumptuous shea butter cream, but what you may not know is that the cream is now 20 years old. What's more, the brand has a fair trade setup with workers in Burkina Faso, buying the shea butter from women to help them earn living wages. Two years ago, L'Occitane bought an astounding 75 percent of Burkina Faso's shea butter produced for the beauty industry, and that percentage is growing every year.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary, the brand has created five shea butter-laden creams featuring the scents of African flowers: Acacia, Frangipani, Vanilla, Rosebud, and Ylang Ylang. So if one of those is your favorite scents, you might want to check it out. (Confidential to C. Foster Kane: Rosebud smells like flowers, not sleds. Sorry.)

View 5 Photos ›

These Glosses Give You the Thrill(er) of the Chase

BellaSugar — Mon, 18 May 2009 13:00:11 -0700

Here's a new weapon for your beauty arsenal - Poppy King's pencils packing punchy hues for her Lipstick Queen collection. The Chinatown line was inspired both by the NYC neighborhood housing their offices and the Roman Polanski mystery of the same name.

Instead of a standard tube or pot, they're thick pencils ($20 each) with draw-on gloss. Choose your own fighting words - from left to right: Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Genre, and Chase - and use the included sharpener to keep things on point. Each offers a super-sheer shade (with moisturizing vitamin E, shea butter, and more) when you color within the lines. No matter what town you're in, pack this pretty ammunition in your makeup bag . . . even if the only crime you're battling is chapped, colorless lips!