Review: LUSH Buffy Body Butter

Last Christmas, two awesome people got me the LUSH Buffy Body Butter that I had on my wishlist and I was, of course, thrilled!

It is a body moisturizer and exfoliator in one product, targeted to improve circulation and soften skin. Having very dry and flaky skin especially on my shins, I was very excited to give this product a go.

Now that I have, I must say that appreciation for this product is acquired.
Read on...

Buffy the Backside Slayer is no soap, I can assure you. It doesn't lather and nor does it actually clean so I use it after cleansing my body with soap. From multiple reviews, I gathered that Buffy melts easily thus, I keep my bars in the fridge. Being a relatively pricey product, I use it very sparingly by cutting up the bar and using one piece for two shins and two arms. On contact with moistened skin, Buffy will start to soften. This couldn't be any more like butter. Heck, it even smells a tad like the butter that you use to bake cakes.

Above the buttery scent is a strong concentrated lavender herbal smell. I don't dislike the smell itself but it's very overwhelming. I store the bar in the LUSH tin and wrap it up in a plastic bag yet I'd still be able to smell it every time I open the fridge.

Many people have commented that the scrubby bits in my favorite Porridge Soap are abrasive. Buffy's worse and probably one of the most painful body scrubs that I've ever used. I'm not exaggerating! The grains are small but it might as well be sand. I only concentrate a tiny piece on my shins and whatever that's left on my arm. I can't imagine using this on areas with more delicate skin. Even with the butter softened, it doesn't move across the skin smoothly. It doesn't have the slip that soaps give and because the butter sorta repels water, wetting the product doesn't actually help either. When you wash off the grainy bits, there'll be a layer of lard-like oil left on your skin and it's not the best feeling in the world because the waxy feeling isn't comfortable.

After all the bashing you'd think that I'm ready to toss this one into bin. Here's the thing -- as bad as the execution was, I loved the result.

The skin on my shins have dramatically softened and the moisture lasts whole day long even without applying additional body moisturizers. I combined body scrub with a body cream afterwards and the result just isn't as intense as what Buffy can give. Thus, I still use this occasionally even though it's not pleasant to use.

Love it or hate it? I really can't decide!

Ingredients:

Fair Trade Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii), Ground Rice (Oryza sativa), Ground Almonds (Prunus dulcis), Ground Aduki Beans (Phaseolus), Perfume, Lavender Oil (Lavandula hybrida), Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum), *Citral, *Limonene, *Linalool.

If you'd like to find out for yourself, Buffy Body Butter retails for USD$10.75 (3.3 oz) at LushUSA.com