Naturalla Beauty

Unscented lotions aren't something you see raved about very often, but they're a staple product for me.  Whether it's because I don't want to deal with anything scented, or because I want a moisturizer that won't interfere with other scents I may be wearing, they're something I reach for on a regular basis.  

I've been pretty dedicated to Acure's Ultra-Hydrating Body Lotion for several years, but last fall I discovered that, due to reformulations, it just doesn't cut it anymore.  Around the same time, I conveniently had some iHerb credit saved up and burning a hole in my pocket, so I figured it was a good time to set about finding a replacement.  

With that in mind, I ordered three new lotions to try.   The goal?  Something without any added scent (or a strong unscented smell).  It would need to be rich and hydrating but not greasy, and something that wouldn't need to be reapplied multiple times a day -- because, really, who has time for that?!

The Contenders:
Acure Fragrance Free Ultra-Hydrating Body Lotion
Clearly I've already spoiled that this was not what I wanted it to be.  The current formula feels very watery and rubs away to nothing.  If you like your lotions incredibly light, it might suit your purposes.  It certainly won't leave you greasy, and it legitimately has no discernible scent.  

Acure Fragrance Free Bare Baby Lotion
Sorry Acure, it's just not your day!  The Bare Baby Lotion is much better in terms of richness and hydration, but it smells awful - like a combination of feet and stinky cheese.  Yuck!  My tube was sealed and is well within the best before date, so there's no reason why it shouldn't be okay, but I'm wondering if maybe I got a bad bottle, as I can't imagine anyone actually trying to sell a product that smells like this.  We don't have access to Acure in stores here, so I have no way of checking, but if you've used this lotion before, I'd love to know if yours smelled gross like this too!

DeVita Shea Butter Bruleé
I like this one, but I don't love it.  Described as an "ultra rich hand and body bruleé," the Shea Butter Bruleé is surprisingly very lightweight.  It sinks in quickly and moisturizes well in the moment, but it doesn't keep my skin feeling hydrated for as long as I'd like.  It also smells a little like sunscreen, although the scent doesn't linger past application.  

The great thing about this cream, however, is the way it gives the skin a slightly perfected, tauter appearance.  There's no mica or other colorants like in most "perfecting" lotions, but it somehow makes skin look just a little bit better.  I expect it'll be great in the summer!  The Bruleé is made with vitamin K, hyaluronic acid, plant collagen, and peptides to increase circulation and target spider veins and stretch marks.  I haven't used it consistently enough to notice a difference in any of those areas, but I'm guessing these same ingredients are responsible for the instant tightening effect I noticed.  

Savannah Bee Company Unscented Honey Body Lotion
Saving the best for last!   The Honey Body Lotion has a thick, rich consistency without feeling overly heavy or greasy as you work it into the skin.  It has a very slight nutty scent - nothing super noticeable - and leaves my skin moisturized enough that I can go a couple days between uses without any ill effects.  It's obviously not vegan (honey + beeswax), unlike the other three, but it's a great lotion.  Probably the only one of the lot that I'd purchase again.  

The Bottom Line
I wouldn't recommend either of the Acure lotions - one for its scent and one for its performance - but I like both the DeVita and Savannah Bee lotions to varying degrees.  The Savannah Bee Honey Lotion has a great balance between richness and easy absorption and is what I'd opt for on an everyday basis, and the DeVita Shea Butter Bruleé has an interesting tightening effect that leaves skin looking slightly perfected without bronzing or color change and would probably be great in the summer.  It's something I'd reach for before wearing shorts or showing more skin, but it doesn't do the trick through these colder winter months.

What are your favorite body lotions?  
 

There are a couple new players in Weleda's popular baby line: White Mallow Body Lotion and Face Cream. The duo is made with organic white mallow, pansy, and coconut oil to calm irritated skin and strengthen its protective barrier, and both products have been awarded the National Eczema Association Seal of Acceptance.  Unlike Weleda's previous calendula baby offerings, the White Mallow line is formulated without any added essential oils or fragrance.

There are no babies here, but you all know how much I love my unscented body lotions and Weleda rarely disappoints, so I'm sure it's no surprise how quickly I gravitated towards these.  Weleda's Calendula line is great, no question, but I was eager to see how these new, unscented additions would do.  



White Mallow Face Cream
Made with 97% organic ingredients, the White Mallow Face Cream is packed with ingredients that nourish, soothe, and protect.  The list includes - in addition to white mallow, pansy, and coconut oil - sweet almond, sesame, safflower, sunflower, and borage oils.  It reminds me a lot of Weleda's other face creams.  Smooth to apply and about a medium weight: enough to be moisturizing, but not so much that it feels heavy going on.  That said, I'm glad I opted for a sample of this one instead of the full size.  My face doesn't generally like coconut oil, and with coconut oil as the second ingredient, I'm not surprised this didn't fully agree with me.  It felt lovely going on, but within a few hours, my pores started to look a little congested - exactly how they get from coconut oil.    

Ingredients: Water (aqua), cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, sesamum indicum (sesame) seed oil, glycerin, alcohol, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, beeswax (cera alba), cetearyl glucoside, glyceryl stearate se, borago officinalis seed oil, carthamus tinctorius (safflower) seed oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil unsaponifiables, hydrogenated cocoglycerides, althaea officinalis (white mallow) root extract, viola tricolor (pansy) extract, xanthan gum, lactic acid, glyceryl caprylate.

White Mallow Body Lotion
The body lotion, on the other hand, has been a big hit.  95% organic ingredients is nothing to scoff at either, especially when they include the same great oils as the face cream, plus healing cocoa butter and squalane.  The lotion achieves that perfect balance of rubbing in easily and still hydrating very well.  It's not heavy or greasy, but it does take a couple minutes to sink in fully.  It also leaves behind the most beautiful glow on the skin that's been getting me all geared up for summer.  

Ingredients: Water (aqua), cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, sesamum indicum (sesame) seed oil, glycerin, alcohol, cetearyl glucoside, beeswax (cera alba), hydrogenated coco-glycerides, thebroma cacao (cocoa) seed butter, borago officinalis seed oil, carthamus tinctorius (safflower) seed oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil unsaponifiables, glyceryl stearate se, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, althea officinalis (white mallow) root extract, viola tricolor (pansy) extract, xanthan gum, glyceryl caprylate, squalane. 

The Bottom Line
Weleda is a great company and I think these are both good additions to their lineup.  The face cream didn't work for me, but I'm pretty confident it would be fine for the many lucky people who can tolerate coconut oil on their faces.  And I really like the body lotion - it's definitely something I can see myself buying again.  

The problem with ordering necessities like body lotion online is that sometimes you miscalculate how much you have left and end up running around in a slight panic searching for something to tide you over until said necessity arrives at your door.  Luckily I had these samples to get me through...



Sibu Beauty Sea Buckthorn Nourishing Body Cream
I really like the idea of a body cream made with a powerhouse ingredient like sea buckthorn, and Sibu's cream makes the most of it by including not just the seed oil, but also the fruit oil and even whole pureed berries.  The cream has a light scent and is what I'd consider a medium weight moisturizer.  It does a good job overall, but I did feel like I needed something more on particularly dry spots like elbows.  

Weleda Sea Buckthorn Body Lotion
I hadn't tried the body lotions before, but Sea Buckthorn is my favorite scent from Weleda, so I was excited to give this sachet a whirl.  The lotion is light and non-sticky and while it's a little on the runnier side, I still found it did a good job hydrating my skin.  As expected, it also smells delicious - bright and citrusy - like the rest of the Sea Buckthorn line.

Nourish Organic Lavender Mint Body Lotion
I usually love Nourish's products, but this one was a pretty big disappointment.  Alcohol is high up in the ingredients and the lotion has an alcohol smell that easily overpowers any lavender or mint.  On the plus side, it dries incredibly fast, again, probably due to the high alcohol content.  Definitely not the most moisturizing of lotions, it wasn't enough for my skin this time of year.  (Nourish's Body Butter, on the other hand, is a complete win.  Review coming soon.)

Desert Essence Coconut Hand and Body Lotion
For me, the main downfall of this lotion was the scent.  Desert Essence's Coconut products are favorites for a lot of people, but I find the scent is way too sweet and verges on fake, suncreen-y coconut.  I put it on before work and was catching whiffs of it all day.  When I came home from work, I could still smell it in my bedroom, and I smelled it again, strong as anything, the second the water hit me in the shower TWO DAYS LATER.  

The lotion itself I liked and was considering purchasing either in unscented or another scent, but for some strange reason, while the coconut uses potassium sorbate as a preservative, all the other varieties are made with Japanese honeysuckle.  I guess I won't be buying it after all!  

AromaCrystal Gardener's Dream Cream
This is an interesting cream that claims to do a bit of everything.  It contains arnica, essential oils, and a bunch of herbal extracts and is purported to help with dry and itchy skin, rashes, cuts, muscle pain, eczema, fibromyalgia, tendonitis, arthritis, acne, bug bites, sinus issues, and probably much more!  I used the sample all over, as a body lotion, but I bet it would make a great hand cream.  It has a thicker texture that takes a bit of effort to rub in, but it does absorb well and doesn't leave you feeling greasy.  The scent, which smelled to me like a mix of mint and pepper, wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't offensive and it dissipated pretty quickly too.  

The Seaweed Bath Co. Lavender Wildly Natural Seaweed Body Cream
I liked this one a lot!  It took a few minutes to fully absorb, but once it did, heavy hitters like argan and kukui oils left my skin incredibly soft and hydrated.  Presumably because of the seaweed content, a lot of The Seaweed Bath Co.'s products have warnings about consulting a doctor prior to use if you have a thyroid disorder, are pregnant, or have any other medical conditions, and while I'm not overly concerned, it does give me pause.  I've had thyroid imbalances in the past and I'm not sure about the effects of topical seaweed application on a regular basis, so more research would be needed before I'd commit to the full size.  

Green Beaver Boreal Body Lotion
I've gone through a couple of these samples in my day.  The tiny tubes are perfect for carrying in even the smallest handbag, and the lotion itself is pretty fantastic too.  It has a very subtle scent, which is perfect if you're ever stuck on a crowded subway and have a desperate need for hand cream (not that that's ever happened to me, of course) and it moisturizes really well.     

Have you used any of these?  What's your favorite body lotion?  



Contains affiliate links

I still love my Acure Cocoa Butter + CoQ10 lotion, but in classic beauty blogger logic, with my tube coming to an end, I decided it was time to branch out and try something new.  I've been bouncing back and forth between body oils and lotion recently, as thicker creams can be more than I want to deal with in the hotter months, so it was perfect timing when I stumbled across (Seed)'s lighter-textured body lotion.  (Seed)'s affordable bodycare products are enriched with grape seed oil, which is both an excellent source of antioxidants and high in essential fatty acids and Vitamin E.  The company is also committed to making a positive environmental impact with minimal, recyclable and biodegradable packaging and sustainable business practices.  

(Seed)'s body lotion is truly a perfect summer lotion.  It's light and silky and it sinks in almost immediately.  The pump top is also super convenient for lotioning in a hurry, and considering it's a runnier lotion, it's also perfect for controlling the amount of product dispensed.  The lighter texture does mean that sometimes I need to reach for something extra for those drier spots like elbows and feet, but in general, (Seed)'s lotion does an excellent job keeping my skin soft and hydrated.  The lotion does also have a moderately strong "unscented scent," by which I mean you can definitely smell the natural oils and other ingredients, but the smell doesn't linger once the lotion is absorbed.  If you prefer a scented product, (Seed) also makes citrus and lavender varieties.

My only complaint, and the reason that I am hesitating over repurchasing this product, is that it contains non-organic soybean oil.  I haven't seen much research on the effects of soy in topical cosmetics, but it's something I try not to eat a lot of - particularly non-organic soy due to GMO concerns - so I'm not sure it's something I want to be slathering all over my body on a regular basis.  That said, the (Seed) website shows a new label and the ingredients don't list soybean oil, so it's possible they've reformulated since I purchased my bottle and this is now a moot point.  I'll update this once I find out for sure!


Where to Buy: $7.19 from Vitacost, $9.00 from (Seed)


Ingredients: Water (aqua), aloe barbadensis leaf juice, vitis vinifera (grape) seed oil, emulsifying wax NF, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, glycine soja (soy) oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), stearic acid, glycerin, camellia sinensis leaf extract, cetyl alcohol, gluconolactone (and) sodium benzoate, tocopherol, tapioca starch, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract.




Disclosure: Post contains affiliate link to Vitacost.  Signing up through my link will save you $10 off a purchase of $30 or more.