BellaSugar

This Body Butter Is Good Enough to Eat

Miriam Lacey — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 05:03:19 PDT

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 sweating seem pretty okay, since it's light enough to be charming instead of overbearingly fragrant as it melts.

This stuff is like a little kid's dream dessert somehow translated into a personal care product: it smells like Italian cream cake topped with lemon bar chunks along with a healthy helping of vanilla ice cream on the side. If you hate gourmand scents, you'll probably be utterly repelled, but if you love them, there's no turning back. In fact, if reading this is making your salivary glands tingle, maybe you shouldn't even try Hello! Yellow. There's no way you'll be able to sniff it without becoming addicted, and then, like me, you'll be on the hook for a $30 jar of shea butter, grinning like a fool while you pay.

Doing Drugstore: Vaseline Cocoa Butter Smoothing Body Butter

BellaSugar — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:08:14 PDT

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 PDT

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,

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 PDT

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

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Shea Butter: The Ultimate Dry Skin Remedy

FitSugar — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 14:45:00 PST

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 lose weight, a lot of times, you'll get those hideous stretch marks we've all come to despise.

So pick yourself up a tub of 100% Shea Butter and a Shea Butter lotion. This miracle worker has an anti-elastase ingredient which makes it a great active ingredient against you guessed it - stretch marks.

I found this 100% all natural, unrefined, Organic Shea butter from Nature's Shea Butter. You can order an 8 oz tub for $11 or if you really love it, you can get yourself all lubed up with the 16 oz tub for $20.

Fit's Tips: The shelf-life of Shea Butter is 18-24 months, but you can keep it longer if you refrigerate it.

Shea Butter: Mmm Mmm Good For Your Skin

FabSugar — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 02:34:30 PST

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 burn, and burns are all helped by shea butter. Lastly, it has an anti-elastase characteristic which makes it a good active ingredient against stretch marks. Do you need any more convincing that shea butter is good stuff? Stock up on this miracle worker to prevent cold weather skin woes. Here are my faves:

Body Time Otuke All-Natural Moisturizer, $28.50 for 1.6 oz.

Jergens Shea Butter Cream, $6.99 for 7.5 oz.

A few more, so

L'Occitane 24 Hours Ultra Rich Face Cream, $34 for 1.7 oz.

Frederic Fekkai Moisturizing Shampoo with Shea Butter, $30 for 9.5 oz.

Curel Natural Healing Moisturizing Lotion, Honey, Vanilla & Shea Butter Extracts, $7.49 for 13 oz.

What We're Sweet On: The Gloss That Looks Good on Everyone

Jaime Richards — Mon, 21 May 2012 10:32:00 PDT

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 touch-of-pink hue is the perfect shade to reach for when you want a more minimalistic makeup look - or when you want low-key lips to complement an intensely heavy smoky eye.

Certified organic, Lip Delivery is loaded with antioxidant-rich cranberries, purple corn, and blueberries. Beeswax, carnauba wax, and cocoa butter ingredients moisturize, while shea butter lends a bit of natural protection from the sun's UV rays. A built-in brush makes application all the more smooth, but perhaps the biggest treat is its sweet and tart flavor, a blend of caramel, vanilla, raspberry, agave, and coconut. You'll keep going back to this smooth operator again and again.

What We're Sweet On: A Lip Exfoliator That's Unrefined

Jessica Cruel — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:05:00 PDT

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. Plus, an extra burst of vitamin E helps protects your reserves of collagen and elastin. And if you haven't tried this lip scrub's body polish brother, then you've yet to discover how sweet an exfoliator sugar can be.

What We're Sweet On: Pure and Simple Shea Butter

Miriam Lacey — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 06:05:18 PST

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 to body heat, so you don't even have to check it when you're traveling, and you don't have to worry about spillage either. We like to use it on dry lips, rough patches, and any other skin that's gotten dried out over the course of the day. It's not complicated stuff, and if you want any benefits beside sheer moisture it might not be your pick. But if you're battling dry skin, it's an inexpensive, effective fix.

What We're Sweet On: A Balm That Does Everything

Miriam Lacey — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 03:30:00 PST

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, baggy under-eyes, but it hydrates lips wonderfully, and gets rid of rough elbows, knees, and ankles instantaneously. Plus, it smells like cherry Yoplait. A little goes a long way with this multitasker; you only need to use the very tiniest bit, so a single jar may well last you forever.