“Burt’s Bees “Soothingly Sensitive” Aloe & Buttermilk Body Lotion:

I like to try new things and last year I treated myself to a “Burt's Bees Essential Body Kit” which contained eight little “trial-sized” products for me to try. I loved all of them and after dropping many hints the other half got me a full sized bottle of the Aloe & Buttermilk body lotion that was my favourite out of the lot!

Burt’s Bees is a BIG company now but it still manages that small, family business feel. All the products feel home-made and really special. The story is a lovely one and www.burtsbees.co.uk tells it perfectly so go take a look if you wish. What I will say is that they have stayed true to their values; they use natural products where ever possible and look after the environment too.

I love the packaging on Burt’s Bees products. (I know a lot you don’t see the point in talking packaging but for some us it is important). I like to have nice packaging so my beauty products look good in my bedroom or bathroom. On more expensive products rubbish packaging is unforgivable; you are paying for it after all! Burt’s Bees products have a slightly retro, rural, folky touch which like I said, I love but I know they are not to everyone’s taste, I have even heard one person claim they look cheap but I think they look charming.

This particular product is in a honey coloured plastic bottle with a screw top lid. The lid isn’t the most practical in the world because when you have the product all over your hands it can be tricky to put the lid back on but it is a small gripe. I like the milk churn decoration and the picture of an Aloe plant too.

The first thing you notice, (and in my opinion the best thing about the product and all the other Burt’s Bees products I have tried), is the smell. It is simply divine. As soon as you unscrew the lid you get hit by a milky, warm almost spicy smell. As the smell develops you can make out the fresh, green scent of the Aloe cutting through the milkyness. It manages to be refreshing and comforting all at the same time. The smell lingers on my skin all day after use, (or all night if I put it on before bedtime so I can smell it when I wake up). If I am stressed or unhappy I put this on and it really helps relax me.

The lotion is a good consistency; not too thick so you can’t get it out of the bottle and not too thin so it doesn’t pour out all at once. Once it meets the heat of your body it becomes quite runny. The lotion is easily absorbed into my skin leaving no trace or oil or grease. The colour is nice too, a kind of milky, honey colour. I could almost eat this stuff!

After use my skin feels soft, supple and soothed. I get very dry, itchy skin on my legs and before this it was a real struggle to keep it under control. Using more natural products eased it somewhat, as did not bathing too often but it still bothers me and this body lotion not only makes my skin more moisturised but also soothes the horrible, sore itchiness I get too. In no way does this irritate my skin and it leaves my hands soft after use as well. If anyone has similar problems I would definitely recommend they try this, it really is worth it. Even if you don’t have problem skin this would still be a real treat to use.

When I said Burt’s Bees use natural products they don’t do that thing that a lot of cosmetics firms do where they simply say “we use natural stuff” they put their money where their mouth is and on the products you will find a percentage of natural products used. This lotion is 99.41% natural; very specific if you ask me.

There are no nasty sounding chemicals with names as long as your arm and the ingredients list clarifies what the individual ingredients are, for instance, Stearic Acid is followed by “vegetable fat” in brackets so you know what it is without having to have a chemistry degree!

The lotion is also Paraben, (a group of chemicals that are anti-bacterial and anti-fungal), and Pthalate, (which are mainly used as plasticizers added to plastics to make them more flexible), free. (Wikipedia as always is a good source of information about these chemicals).

The bottle is made of 90% post consumer recycled material and is recyclable itself if your local authority has the facilities.

So as I said Burt’s Bees are not simply paying lip service to the natural/good for the environment band wagon but they believe in these things and they are not afraid to show it. I really wish more companies would give us the facts like this!

So in conclusion I think this is the best body lotion I have ever used. I can’t believe how nice it makes my skin feel and how nice it is to use generally. I always get compliments on how nice I smell when I use this, even the other half notices, which is saying something! I think the quality of the product more than justifies the price. Try this if you can.”