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It's rare that lotion impresses me, and generally I'm very happy to stick with the basics: good oils, plain cocoa butter, etc. But I'm obsessed with this Farmhouse Fresh Hello! Yellow Shea Butter Cream ($30). It's an unassuming little glass jar that looks like it should hold preserves, but what's inside is actually a riot of amazing smells (and hydration). It smells so good that it even makes Read more
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 Read more
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 Read more
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 Read more
So New Year's is over and I'm sure you're all busy working on those New Year's Resolutions. Losing weight and exercising more were tops on your list this year. It's great to decide to get in shape now, so you'll be ready to sport a bikini come summer. But the thing is, if you are planning on losing weight in your hips, thighs, and love handles, you've got to prepare your skin. When you gain or Read more
OK ladies. It's winter time - time to moisturize! Here's one of my winter skin staples... There is no doubt shea butter is good stuff. It has soothing, moisturizing and protecting effects. It displays a protecting role against UV rays - it is an asset against skin aging. It also aides in the healing of small wounds, skin cracks and crevices. Moreover, dry skin, dermatitis, dermatoses, eczema, sun Read more
Some lip glosses are so waxy, your lips feel as if they're suffocating, while others are so shiny, they practically blind the person standing next to you. Such is not the case with Intelligent Nutrients' Lip Delivery Antioxidant Gloss in Pink Hibiscus ($24). Free of synthetic waxes and oils (and fragrance and colorants), the subtly tinted gloss lends just a hint of sheen to the lips. And the Read more
Rough, peeling lips underneath your favorite matte lipstick (or any lipstick for that matter) are never a good thing. Enter your salvation: Fresh Sugar Lip Polish ($23). Unlike most lip scrubs, Fresh's formula doesn't shy away from coarse crystals. The brown sugar granules slough away dead skin, giving your lips a smooth finish, while shea butter, jojoba oil, and grapeseed oil lend moisture. Read more
If you have finicky, dry skin, finding something that doesn't break it out, irritate it, or render less-than-spectacular results is notable indeed. So Från Krämer natural shea butter ($10) has managed to make us very, very happy. It's extremely hydrating, superlatively gentle, reasonably priced, and portable, too. Shea butter is solid at room temperature but melts right down when it's exposed Read more
If you love the way that Vaseline is useful for just about every beauty issue, but don't like that it contains petrolatum, Cosmedix Rescue balm ($42) is a truly excellent alternative. This stuff is made almost entirely out of shea butter, vegetable oil, and plant extracts (primarily cherry bark and horse chestnut), and it really is a cure for what ails you. Not only does it work wonders on dry, Read more
