Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa Mango Butter Body Products

I have been a longtime fan of The Body Shop's Mango Body Product line for the past few years.  However, there is no longer a stand alone Body Shop store less than an hour away from me and the products are no longer found at Sephora.  My local Ulta still carries some of the best selling body products, including my favorite Mango and Coconut products, but I am always on the look out for emails and people who will order the products with me.  While I love many of the products from this company and tend to replace them as soon as I am running out, I also keep my eyes open for any type of great, natural-smelling mango body product line.  Mango is one of my favorite fragrances and I will buy almost any product that smells like the natural fruit. To my delight, Bath and Body Works has created a line that is very similar to that of The Body Shop and it is so much easier to find.

The Mango Body line is a new line of four products that was recently released into the True Blue Spa collection, so far I have bought three of the four products and have been loving the products that I have tried so far.  The Bath and Body Works website states that the formulas contain real mango butter, so they are as hydrating and nourishing as the formulas from The Body Shop.  I would love if this line is permanent and Bath and Body Works releases more products with the natural ingredient in them.  This line contains of two cleansers and two moisturizers.  So far, I have bought both cleansers and one of the moisturizers.  This release couldn't have come at a better time for me, I had just finished up a Mango Body Wash from The Body Shop and was looking at heading to Ulta to buy another.  I ended up at the mall before I got to Ulta and decided to try this product line out and see how it performed.

As I stated above, this line consists of four new products and I bought three of them.  I purchased the Bar Soap, the Body Butter, and the Nourishing Shower Smoothie.  There was also another body lotion that I might purchase later on down the line.  I wanted to try the products that appeared to be most like the ones that I currently love from The Body Shop.  Also, I love bar soaps and was excited to see one included with this line since they are getter harder and harder to find at certain major retailers.  So far, I have used the butter and wash so I will look at the those today (along with the lotion that I have yet to purchase) and we will return to the bar soap after I have gotten a chance to open it up and play with it.

First we will start with the Nourishing Shower Smoothie.  "Our smooth and creamy body wash formula contains hydrating-rich ingredients like Mango Butter and Aloe to moisturize, cleanse, and leave skin slightly scented with fruity fragrance.  With richly replenishing and moisturizing Mango Butter for ultra soft skin.  Leaves skin feeling hydrated and ultra-pampered, even after rinsing.  Fresh and juicy mango butter fragrance."  This body wash produces a rich, creamy lather that reminds me more a creamy wash than just a shower gel, this will be a great product when my skin is very dry in the winter months and normal shower gels can be too irritating for my skin.  This product doesn't rinse as cleanly as most shower gels do so this might put some people off the product, if you don't have dry skin then this might be too hydrating for use to use on a regular basis.  A slight bit of mango fragrance was left on my skin after use however it must be layered with the lotion or cream to fully reap the benefits of the fresh mango scent.  My bathroom smelled like a tropical paradise after showering with this product, a favorite aspect of mine.  If you love tropical scents or have dry skin then I really recommend buying this body wash!

There are two moisturizers that are offered in this line.  First we will look at the lotion and then the butter.  The Replenishing Body Lotion is the lighter of the two products and would be the better one to use in the warm weather.  "Transport your skin to the nourishing climates of the tropics with fast-absorbing body lotion containing ultra-moisturizing Mango Butter.  This deeply hydrating formula delivers an island kiss of fresh and fruity fragrance.  With richly replenishing and moisturizing Mango Butter for ultra soft skin.  Non-greasy formula absorbs instantly to nourish skin and deeply hydrate.  Fresh and juicy mango butter fragrance."  This lotion is much lighter than the butter and even though I didn't buy it the first time around, I still plan to soon.  I love the scent of it and found it is absorb quickly and cleanly on my hands.  This would be better for normal to slightly dry skin, so I would use it more in the late spring and summer months.

The butter is the most hydrating of all the products, I have dry skin so this will be a great choice for me in the cold weather.  I have relied on the Mango Butter from The Body Shop for years so I bought this so I could see how similar the formulas really are.  The 24 Hour Moisture Body Butter is closer to the texture of the Signature Collection Body Butters than The Body Shop formula.  "Mango to the rescue!  Supercharged with pure Mango and skin-softening Shea, our body butter is the perfect permanent vacation for even your driest areas!  With richly replenishing and moisturizing Mango Butter for ultra soft skin.  Ultra-conditioning, non-greasy formula leaves skin luxuriously moisturized for 24 hours.  Fresh and juciy mango butter fragrance."  I used this product one night to bring some needed moisture back into my self-tanned skin, however it was a bit too heavy for this time of the year.  I used a very little amount, the amount that came up when I dipped my knuckle into the butter.  That amount was enough for a decent sized area of my body.  It absorbed quickly without leaving residue, this heavy a formula can scare some people so the key is using a very little amount and then adding more as needed.  I can't speak for the 24 hour moisturization since I took a shower and washed it off before the 24 hours was up.  This formula didn't moisturize past a shower and using the C.O. Bigelow Mentha Bar Soap.  I will be putting this product away for the fall and winter months when my skin is really dry.

So far I have have really been liking the wash and butter in this line.  I can see myself using them at lot in the winter months when my skin is so dry that it hurts and the weather is so bleak that the mango scent will bring my mood up in the shower.  Hopeefully, I will be opening up the bar soap and trying it out within the next month or two.  I might save this until fall and see how well it performs when my skin is drier than usual.  I love this line and hope that more and more products like these are on the way!

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Did they discontinue it?