April empties - Origins, L'Occitane, Saaf, Korres, The Bath House, The Body Shop

Body Shop massage oil – I wanted to like this, but I was disappointed. It sounded promising and exotic, but it smells too much of ginger. It might as well be called Ginger massage oil. I would not repurchase as there are other oils in the range.

Saaf face oil serum – love a facial oil. My face is dry and needs hydrating throughout the year. Have already repurchased. I’m very interested in this range of products. 

L’Occitane Jasmine and Green Tea soap 100g – love this and I’ve already repurchased, it looks like it’s discontinued but it sometimes crops up during sales so I stock up whenever I see it.

Origins Night-A-Mins 30ml sample – I've been using silicone-free products lately so this feels way too silicone-y for me and I didn’t really notice much difference after regular use either. I wouldn't repurchase. 

L’Occitane Verbena shower gel 500ml – this massive body wash came as part of a gift set of Verbena products from L’Occitane. I love the authentic fresh fragrance of this body wash, but don’t love the drying sulfates, would repurchase only if L’Occitane ever decide to reformulate to remove the SLES.

L’Occitane Mango flower hand cream 30ml – this is one of the really thick formulations that I prefer to use in cooler weather (the summer ones have more of a gel consistency). I’m not crazy about the fragrance. I have other hand creams in the stash.

Korres Guava Lip Butter – I really like this. I don’t wear this during the day as this guava one turns your lips white, but I use it each night as an overnight treatment. I used to wake up with parched lips each morning and the first thing I’d reach for would be a lip balm, but this works at keeping the lips hydrated. I’m not keen on the ingredients though, looks like there’s nothing but a bunch of plastic in there. I have the Pomegranate one to try next.

Pretty Perfect Orange Blossom shower gel – a sulfate-free body wash bought on clearance from TKMaxx. Great scent, quite unisex with sandalwood. Would repurchase, but I believe this is discontinued. The Bath House offer several other fragrances.

The Body Shop Sensual Massage Oil review

The Body Shop Sensual Massage oil 150ml £10 – I've been looking for an oil to use at the gym after showering instead of carrying around a body butter. This one looked promising, but it smells too much of ginger. Frankly, that’s all I can detect. It might as well be called Ginger massage oil.

This massage oil blend is inspired by traditional Polynesian massage rituals. It has a warm and sensual aroma.

• Suitable for all skin types
• Conditioning
• Ideal for couples

The oil has a flip lid which prevents any oil from spilling out when stored in a bag. It works alright as a hydrating oil, but the scent is too one note for me and dominated with the ginger. I wouldn't repurchase this one but The Body Shop has other oils to try.

Here's the list of ingredients:

Glycine Soja Oil, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Zea Mays Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Olea Europaea Oil, Limonene, Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Oil, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Aleurites moluccana, Sclerocarya birrea, Pogostemon Cablin Oil, Cananga Odorata Oil, Citrus Medica Limonum Oil, Linalool, Canarium commune, Pelargonium odoratissimum, Vetiveria Zizanoides Oil, Vanilla Planifolia Extract, Zingiber Officinale Oil, Benzyl Benzoate, Citronellol, Amyris Balsamifera Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Oil, Citrus reticulata, Geraniol, Tocopherol, Myroxylon pereirae, Benzyl Salicylate, Citral, Acacia Decurrens Extract, Cymbopogon Nardus Oil, Illicium verum, Farnesol, Benzyl Cinnamate, Elettaria cardamomum, Eugenol, Isoeugenol, Rosa damascena, Santalum Album Oil.

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