{ " The Body Shop - Shea Body Butter " }

I apologize for the time span that is occuring between posts... I just can't seem to be able to sit and write any reviews lately... This one has been written over the course of three days, if that says anything.

I have heard so many things about The Body Shop's signature body butters. Most of the things I have heard about them were endless praises. I have been wanting to try one of their body butters for the longest time, but I couldn't get myself to spend $19.00 on a body butter. It just seemed like an insane amount of money to spend on something that was like a lotion. I know it is a good amount of product, but still, that is a lot of money.

Well, I was at Ulta on Tuesday, and I saw one of the little "sample" sized body butters at the checkout. (They really draw you in at the checkout with all those nifty little things to stare at while you're waiting... it really is at trap.) They were $5.00 each, so I grabbed the only scent they had there, which was the Shea body butter.

Let me tell you right now.
I am so tempted to buy a full size, in a different scent, but nonetheless... this product is incredible.

So, let's get a little bit personal here. I have Raynaud's disease in my toes on both feet, and I am developing it in my hands. I have extremely dry feet to begin with, and then I develop ulcers (which are extremely painful, especially when I stub my toes on something), more dry patches, and then when the ulcers break the dry skin around them snags. Sounds gross, but that's just what happens. The ulcers, and soreness in my toes become even more painful when the skin is so dry and cracked.

I'm pretty sure anyone could see the difference, but I can actually feel the difference.

I had not been able to find a moisturizer that takes care of my dry, cracked feet and in turn help with the soreness. 

Well. This moisturizer does exactly what I needed it to do. 

At first when I opened it, I was quite surprised for some reason. It is not whipped, it does not look like a cream, it literally looks like butter. And guess what, it feels like butter too! I dipped my finger in it to use some on my hands, and I was surprised when it wasn't like a cream. You can kind of press down on the top of it, and it just squishes. It's rather amusing. But, anyways you kind of have to dig into it the first time, either that or just rub the top of it quite a bit. I used it on my hands, and at first it felt slightly greasy. I don't normally moisturize my hands, because I have never been able to find a moisturizer that does not make my hands feel uncomfortable, or greasy. The scent was very, very strong though. At first the scent was awful. I put it on before I went somewhere and all I could smell was that. I'm getting used to the scent though, and I'm actually kind of growing to like it, I'm sensing a vanilla undertone.

When I got home I decided to try a little on my feet. So, I smoothed a little bit (literally, all you need is a tiny bit, this stuff is so thick and smooth) onto my toes, heels and the sides of my feet. I then put on some socks and went to bed. In the morning I repeated it. I have been doing this for the last six days, and my feet are no longer dry, and cracked. They are smooth, hydrated, and they don't look half as nasty as they did before, which is a plus. Also, my hands get a little TLC while I'm putting the cream on my feet. 

I don't really think this has any cons, except for the price. I don't think I'll be dishing out $20.00 for one of these body butters anytime soon. I will, however, be keeping my eyes peeled at TJ Maxx, and Marshalls for them, and snatch up whatever ones I find! 

Thanks for reading! 

If anyone wants to buy the Satsuma body butter... Feel free. I'll love you for forever. ;)

{ " GARNIER Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream " }

So, about two weeks ago I purchased the Garnier Moisture Rescue Refreshing-Gel cream, because I was in need of a new moisturizer, and I was curious to try this. I had been using my Pond's Moisturizer for quite some time, and I loved it. 

This did not do the trick. 

First of all, for those of you who might not have gotten it from the title, it is a gel. There is nothing cream about it. It is a straight up gel. In fact, I almost spilled it the first time I opened it! 

It is apparently formulated for dry skin. I was pretty sure I had "normal" skin, but evidently I don't... I ended up with some dry patches on my skin after using this as my moisturizer for about a week. Now I have a nice dry patch between my eyebrows, and my nose started to look dry. Which is a bummer, seeing as I had "normal to dry" skin before. So, this definitely is not very moisturizing, which I was warned about before I bought this. It also left my skin feeling kind of stiff. Almost as if it was drying my skin out. Do you know that feeling after you wash your face? Before you put your moisturizer on again your face feels dry and kind of stiff. Well, that is how this moisturizer makes my skin feel. The first time I put it on it burned like... whoa. It scared me to be honest. I didn't expect it to burn. Like my face felt hot, and turned all red. Which was a little bit frightening. It did the same thing the second time I used it too. I'm not sure if it was just an ingredient that irritated my skin at first, or if it was just the new product. But, it was bad. 

About three days after using it I developed a bunch of pimples (that's a weird word) on my forehead, one on my cheek, and one beside my nose. That was frustrating, because not to "brag" I never ever breakout. I have clear skin for the most part - unless I use a product that has gluten in it, and might come in contact with my face. So, the fact that I suddenly broke out after using this product for a little while, led me to believe it was from this product. I continued to use it, but wiped my blemishes with an alcohol swab after putting on the moisturizer. The blemishes eventually went away, and haven't come back. I'm guessing it's just my skin's reaction to a new product. 

It smells clean. It isn't super perfumed, but it does have a scent to it. Maybe a little bit flowery? The scent goes away as soon as it sinks into the skin though.

This gel is very refreshing when first put onto the skin. It feels very cooling, and certainly wakes you up if you use it early in the morning! It feels really nice when you first smooth it onto your skin, but it takes a little bit to soak in completely. It didn't really leave a soft finish on my skin, smooth, but not soft. 

I won't purchase this product again, but I'll use it up, seeing as I can't return it. I would recommend this to someone with normal, or even combination skin, but I don't like it for my own skin. It certainly is not for dry skin, in my opinion. 

I'm pretty sure that was all over the place... but, hopefully you get the gist.