‘Cuz, you know, I’m a beauty blogger now on top of a running and reading blogger… I can survive quite fine and well not visiting a mall except sporadically, picking up beauty products as needed from the pharmacy guided by what is on sale that week. But when you work just above an amazing subterranean mall and walk by shiny shops everyday in the winter when you scurry out of the cold, some of those shiny displays start to stick.
I kept seeing the The Body Shop‘s Mother of All Sales banners after Christmas and I started to succumb. In addition, I’m paying off moving fees, a truckload of new furniture, and I had $250 of gift cards from The Body Shop from the past two Christmases. In the absence of me telling my parents what I need and they could give me for Christmas, Mum shopped The Body Shop. I wasn’t overly grateful at the time but now I am! On my first foray, in January, I got six diverse products worth $89 for $60.
Vitamin C Daily Moisturizer SPF 30
50mL $20 (B3G2 price $13.48)
This lotion contains Amazonian camu camu berry “which is known to have one of the highest contents of vitamin C in nature”, a vitamin that “encourages collagen production, improves elasticity and protects against damaging environmental aggressors”.
In the shop, I smoothed some of the Seaweed line and Vitamin C line on the back of my hand. Both contain SPF 15 but while the seaweed lotion felt so smooth going on (refreshing) the Vitamin C felt a little stickier. In no small part because my friend Vina raved about the product line, I went with the Vitamin C; I also prefer the citrus scent, finding it much more refreshing and the promised (and delivered) radiance was a draw. I really do feel like I have a healthy glow from the product. Just a little bit goes a long way making this product, at B3G2 surprisingly reasonable.
Nutriganics Softening Cleansing Gel
100mL $15 (B3G2 price $10.11)
This cleansing gel is enriched with organic babassu oil from Brazil that helps smoothes and revitalizes skin and aloe vera that hydrates and calms sensitive skin.
This winter was surprisingly mild but my skin still rebelled worse than I can ever recall, so it was my main motivation to pick up a good cleanser. I didn’t notice the “First Signs of Ageing” on the side of the bottle, which means you use it before progressing to the Natrulift “Signs of Ageing” line and then the Wise Woman lines. Drawing from something familiar, the gel smells like tea tree oil products I have used in the past. It feels like spreading a thin cream around your face and barely lathers. But it’s been remedial for my skin.
Peppermint Intensive Foot Rescue
100mL $18 (B3G2 price $12.13)
This skin-smoothing moisturizer cools and deodorizes, a customer favourite since 1985. Peppermint oil promotes a cooling sensation while cocoa butter is an excellent moisturizer and sweet almond oil that is rich in essential fatty acids help restore the skin’s moisture barrier. To round things out, grape extract smoothes the skin and has gentle exfoliation properties.
Another consequence of a dry winter in the east: really dry feet! Gross, huh? So Must-Have Item #2 from The Body Shop was their intensive foot lotion. NPY gets a kick out of how I apply lotion to my feet which is to squirt lotion directly on my feet, flop on my stomach, and have each food rub the lotion into the other. In the case of this product, I dip my heel into the heel-sized pink container and brings heels together to spread it around. The lotion is thick and absorbs quickly into the skin. The bonus is how it smells like a potent candy cane!
Vitamin C Eye Reviver Duo
20mL $22 (B3G2 price $14.83)
This lotion contains Amazonian camu camu berry “which is known to have one of the highest contents of vitamin C in nature”, a vitamin that “encourages collagen production, improves elasticity and protects against damaging environmental aggressors”. This product is best if you want to refresh and revive delicate skin around the eyes and minimize the appearance of dark shadows.
When I was pre-shopping at The Body Shop’s online site, I thought I wanted Nutrilift (“Signs of Ageing” but I didn’t know it then) eye cream. I’m not a user of eye cream but wielding a gift card and the Mother of All Sales made me feel adventurous. But presented with a dazzling array of products in-store, I tapped a sales associate’s expertise.
Me: “What other lines have eye creams?”
She: “All of them! Do you want to reduce fine lines/wrinkles? Get rid of dark circles? Reduce puffiness?”
Me: “Dark circles and puffiness.”
She steered me away from Nutrilift and towards Vitamin C. Although I bought the eye reviver duo in January, I only tried it in April when NPY visited because what do I care if I have dark circles around other people? I apply the Vitamin C moisturizer from above thinly over my face except around my eyes. First, you use the end of the stick marked “1.” with a roller applicator spreading a cool liquid on your dark circles and just around the outer corner. Then I use the end marked “2.” that looks like a lip gloss wand and dab and spread the shimmering white formula on just the dark circles. There is an active ingredient–at the very least, it tingles–in the wand end but I know the principle is that reflective particles will make the area look lighter and you will look younger and free from worries. I feel invincible with that stuff on.
Rainforest Balance Shampoo
400mL $14 (B3G2 price $9.44)
This shampoo contains seaweed that helps balance, purify and clarify hair and aloe vera that moisturizes and protects hair. It is best for oily hair and you want to reduce excess oil for hair that looks clean and fresh all day.
Given I buy $2 shampoo (Herbal Essences, if I can) from the drug store, this product was the biggest splurge even with a gift card and Mother of All Sales. That is, my usual shampoo would be $3.50 for a 400mL bottle compared to this shampoo’s B3G2 price of $9.44.
Also for this product, I busted it out when NPY visited, three months after purchasing it. Honestly, I hadn’t gone through all of my other shampoo yet either. I picked up Herbal Essences Drama Clean which I love to gently make my hair squeaky clean and works well despite hard Toronto water. And I like having NPY use it because it reminds him of China when we used it every day to wash away the city’s dirt. He was all too eager to use the Body Shop shampoo that has a spa-like eucalyptus scent and while I didn’t notice much with my coarse hair, he thinks it makes his hair softer. I wouldn’t get it again because my hair does not need $9/$14 shampoo!
Delipscious Tinted Lip Balm in Berry Crush
4.2mL $10 (now $3)
This lip balm contains virgin cold-pressed coconut oil, organic beeswax and cocoa butter, all of which moisturizes skin, conditions lips, and help to replenish moisture levels. The fruity flavour is made from food-grade ingredients, including natural watermelon and raspberry seed oils.
Who can have too many tubes of lip balm? Not me! And this sale price did not depend on buying other items and who can resist 70% off? Not me! Who is sometimes (often times) too lazy to put on lip colour after applying lip balm? Me! It smells lovely like artificial, perfumy berry scent like the Lip Smackers of your youth but at least an effort has been made to make it more grown-up (“food-grade ingredients”). Yet it’s shimmery and still feels way youthful being dispensed from the twist tube. Regular price $10?! Crazy!