The Body Shop Strawberry Body Polish $20 Review

Joke of the day:

Why was the strawberry so upset?

Cause he was in a jam! Hahaha!
(yes I'm easily amused)

"Best if you want to: Cleanse and exfoliate with a foaming, gel-based scrub that has crushed walnut shells and kiwi seeds and a light strawberry scent.

Best for: normal skin, suitable for everyday use

How it works:
■Strawberry juice is rich in vitamin C and antioxidants to protect and nourish skin, as well as pore-cleansing salicylic acid; provides natural strawberry fragrance and red color.
■Community Trade organic honey moisturizes and conditions skin.
■Sunflower oil and sweet almond oil moisturize and soften skin." ~from The Body Shop website

Swatches
This body polish has the consistency of a gel that's not too thick or too runny. It also contains bits of walnut shell and kiwi seeds throughout that never fully dissolve but it's ok because they're really gentle.

I wish there was smellapost (maybe it'll be available when smellavision comes around) because this stuff smells so delicious! It smells just like strawberry jam and I'm soooo tempted to eat it!

Product Packaging
The body polish is in a plastic squeeze tube with a pop-tab cap which makes it very easy to dispense the gel in the shower.

The Verdict: A-
Using this body polish has so many benefits! You get squeaky clean, it gives you a good scrub down to slough off dry skin, and it triples as an aromatherapy wash!

This scrubbing bodywash is really gentle and it doesn't dry out skin - even with daily use. Also the sweet strawberry smell lingers on the skin even after it's rinsed off. I end up walking around smelling my arm all day long.

The Body Shop Detangling Comb $7 Review

"Best if you want to: Teach wet hair to co-operate with a wide-tooth wooden comb that evenly distributes conditioner and detangles without splitting ends.Best for: all hair types

Features:
■Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified beech wood.
■Wide teeth." ~from The Body Shop website

The Verdict: A
I like the wooden feel of the brush but now I'm worried it might get water damaged over time? Maybe I'm just being anal but I'm already thinking of treating the comb witn mineral oil every now and then. I know. I'm scary that way.

Regardless of my paranoia, the comb works great to distribute conditioner evenly throughout hair. When my hair gets long, it gets kinda tricky to get conditioner all the way to the ends using just my finger tips. This comb works great to spread the conditioner from root to ends! I also like the spacing of the teeth because it doesn't tug on my hair when it's wet and cause breakage.

I even use it out of the shower to distribute styling products(mostly heat protecting ones) through my hair and so far it's been a great multi-tasker.

The Body Shop Cyber Monday 2009 Parcel

Another Cyber Monday deal I succumbed to. This was more of a re-stock opprotunity than anything else.

I had to re-stock on the Vitamin C Boost (which I use as an unconventional primer) and the Strawberry Body Polish.

I did get 2 new items: A Detangling Comb that I wanted to use with conditioners and a Midnight Stars Oil Burner (Drats! I forgot to include the oil burner in the pic. I promise to have pics with the review - so no worries).

I also picked up a Vitamin E Eye Cream for my granny. I've used it in the past but I wasn't consistent(plus I was ridicously young about 17 and obviously paranoid) so I can't give any honest feedback on this. Granny likes it though and what Granny wants Granny gets because she feeds me :)

Shipping Experience: A
No complaints with The Body Shop's shipping process. All the items arrived in one shipment and everything was well-wrapped and shipped securely. O I should also mention - they use ziploc baggies for everything! I'm a ziploc packer myself so I feel The Body Shop and I are kindred spirits :)

The Body Shop Haul

On this shopping trip I went to The Body Shop looking for a flannel washcloth that Lindi from over at http://www.bubzbeauty.com/ recommended.

Luxury Facial Flannel $6.50

I really didn't know what to expect of this thing. When I got to the store the SA helped me find this washcloth and it was packed in a ziplock baggy and was flexile and bendy. It did not look at all like..."cloth". It reminded me of a white shammy and looked silicone-like in texture. I was weirded out even more because the SAs had taken one out of it's packaging and it was dry and hard and looked like a piece of styrofoam. They assured me that once it touched water it would return to it's soft state and work just like new. But hey Lindi said it's fantastic so I bought it anyways. I was not at all disappointed by this thing. Remember I said it looked silicone-like? Well it works just like a rubber spatula for your face but it is also soft to the touch. I tried it with my normal cleanser and saw this guy in action. It wipes away all traces of the cleanser in one swoop! It's really amazing but I'd rather use it to wipe away a mask or something. I like splashing my face with water to rinse off my normal cleanser.

Vitamin C Skin Boost $26

Okay the SA told me that Vitamin C boost (one of their best sellers) would help diminish the appearance of acne scars. I really didn't have any faith in this product's claims but when she put some on my wrist I like the texture of it. It feels almost like a silicone primer. I figured if I could wear this as a primer without getting shiny and it's also doing good for my skin - why not? It also smells just like fresh cut oranges - which I happen to love. If you don't like orange citrus-y smells, it may be a bit overwhelming. Since it has that silicone feel to it, it really does help with evening out skin texture without the feeling of plugged pores.

The Verdict
I don't think this should be labeled a moisturizer. The gel texture of this sits on top of skin and is very slowly absorbed into the skin. Because of the slow absorption I'm loving it as a primer. It's weightless and does feel like it's clogging my pores. It leaves my skin silky smooth and prepped for makeup. Although it's not a cure, I find it does help smooth out dry patches around blemish so that makeup doesn't cake.

I'm not sure if it's working to diminish any dark spots- at least I can't really tell. I'm also still on the lookout for a primer as this one made me a bit shiny. I like to wear it alone when I'm in a rush just to even out the texture of my skin. I really really love the flannel washcloth though! I will definitely go back to get another one to stash away.

Freebies
I was pleasantly surprised when I went to check out and the SA added all these goodies to my bag! I received a Cloth Woven Makeup Bag filled with travel sizes of Strawberry Body Butter, Vitamin E Moisture Cream, Divine Calm Heavenly Shower Gel (not pictured), and Mulberry Hi-Shine Lip Gloss (not pictured). I gave the items not pictured to a friend before I could take these photos.

This smells just like strawberry icing! I need to be careful with this. The whole time I was wearing it I had a craving for cupcakes!


This is very fast-absorbing and non-greasy but nothing too special about it. I've been using it at night before bed.