Why was I so excited? In the company's own words -
"We are a small family business on a mission to make your skin happy. We create natural and pure recipes packed with love that deliver skin softening goodness combined with excellent customer service and a promise to always do better for our customers and our community. It's all about doing work that we love, sharing it with you and revealing the inner beauty found in all of us."
It doesn't get much better than that, am I right?
All Rachel's Plan Bee products are made with wholesome, natural ingredients and are free of parabens, phthalates, petrochemicals, gluten, and artificial colors and flavours.
Keep reading to find out what I thought of the Body Polish and newly launched Body Oil.
Original Body Polish*
I think I can count the number of times I've actually bought a body scrub on one hand. Not because I don't enjoy them, but because I tend to mix up my own at home instead. Let me just say: Rachel's Plan Bee blows pretty much every scrub I've ever made out of the water.
If a traditional sugar scrub is - at its most basic - a mix of sugar and oil, then this one is more like a combination of sugar and a rich body butter. It has a buttery, sort of whipped consistency that means you will never be left dripping wet and frantically searching for something to stir your scrub with after the oil and sugar have separated again. (Tell me this has happened to you too?!)
The consistency, which I expect is largely due to the shea butter, beeswax and clay included, also means that your skin is left nicely moisturized but not oily. It's enough hydration that I don't feel like I need to use a moisturizer after the polish, but not so much that my skin feels like it's coated in a layer of oil.
I also really like the somewhat delicate grittiness of the Body Polish, which uses smaller sugar crystals than those found in a lot of other scrubs. This lends a great, uniform texture and also makes it a breeze to get an even exfoliation. The smaller, almost sand-like particles also make for a very versatile scrub: I can use it just as easily to buff and soften my rough heels as I can to gently exfoliate my winter-weary hands.
I tried the Original Polish, which has the company's signature citrus vanilla scent, but there are also three other scent choices currently available: Lavender Spirit (lavender, vanilla and chamomile), Vanilla & Spice (vanilla with a hint of cinnamon) and Mint Julep (lemon, mint and eucalyptus).
This oil made it into last week's top gift picks under $25, so if you saw that post, you already know how much I love it. Created after many customer requests, the Body Oil is a blend of plant oils, including apricot kernel oil, meadowfoam seed oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, and cranberry seed oil. It's a little thicker than some other body oils I've used, but it has a good slip to it and spreads easily. It also absorbs really well, particularly when applied onto damp skin.
Like the Original Body Polish, the Body Oil is scented with a blend of citrus and vanilla, although I find the citrus component is milder in the oil, making it mainly a vanilla scent. As it wears on the skin, I feel like I smell like a tray of cookies. If you like sweet, vanilla, bakery-type scents, I think you will love how this oil smells.
Regular readers will know that my love for unscented moisturizers runs pretty deep and I will say there are times when I reach for an unscented product over the body oil. But, for days when I want a little more scent, this oil has totally won me over. It leaves my skin beautifully hydrated and incredibly soft to the touch as well.
The Bottom Line
I love both of these! Used either together or individually, I think they're great products. The texture of the Body Polish is pretty near perfect and I love the multitude of scents available. It would be great to see more scent options for the oil in the future too. And maybe even - dare I say it - an unscented one. Have you tried anything from Rachel's Plan Bee?
*Press sample
