The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Face Mask Review

This is not a pretty face mask. It doesn't have a cute character printed on a sheet nor does it have a thick, luxurious texture. Made with "tingling charcoal clay" that "is infused with bamboo charcoal, green tea leaves and organic tea tree oil," this mask has a thin texture, a dark colour and pieces of black... something in it. Maybe the pieces are the green tea leaves? Whatever they are, they contribute greatly to creating a product that when on, makes you look like you just took a swim in a swamp.

The Body Shop Japanese Matcha Tea Pollution Clearing Mask Review

I received my sample of The Body Shop's Japanese Matcha Tea Pollution Clearing Mask in my October Topbox. While I used to be a Body Shop regular, it's been awhile since I've shopped there so I pleased to see this new offering from that brand in my Topbox.

Like most Body Shop products, this one comes with a story about its ingredients. A completely vegan product, the mask is made with "...matcha green tea from Kakegawa, Japan, dandelion extract and soul-soothing Community Trade aloe vera from Mexico." Along with a few other ingredients—but not "silicones, mineral oil or paraffins"—these items create a mask that, "deeply purifies, gently exfoliates and liberates your skin from the weekly build-up of city pollutants and everyday impurities." The end result is supposed to be, "radiant, younger-looking skin."

The Body Shop Virgin Mojito Body Scrub

Conceptually, this product isn't a bad idea. People love The Body Shop's scrubs and people also love mojitos, which can be a colourful and fragrant drink. Unfortunately, this scrub's reality is just plain disappointing.

When I first saw this product in the store, I was immediately drawn to its bright colour and then its "invigorating virgin mojito fragrance" sold me. How great would it be to start my day with a body scrub that smelled like a mojito?

The Body Shop Spa Fit Smoothing Refining Body Scrub

One of my favourite kinds of beauty products are body scrubs. I love that feeling of literally scrubbing away dead, dry skin while I give myself a bit of massage.

My go-to scrub is The Body Shop's Cocoa Body Butter Scrub but while I do love that product, I'm always looking for something better. That's how I ended up with Spa Fit Smoothing Refining Body Scrub; I walked into The Body Shop to get one thing but, lured in by pretty package, I walked out with something else.

According to The Body Shop, "This zesty citrus scrub contains 100% natural-origin citrus ingredients. It refines skin’s texture, and will leave it looking smoother and feeling firmer." Having used product now for close to two months, I can now confidently say that this scrub had no impact on my skin's firmness nor did it noticeably refine it. It did leave my skin feeling a bit smoother but the results were nothing dramatic.

Buytopia Body Shop Deal

***Sponsored Post***

Yes, this is a sponsored post but honestly, I'd likely be writing it even if Buytopia's PR people hadn't approached me because the company's latest offering is really a fantastic deal. For the next five days, Buytopia is offering a $15-for-$30 certificate valid at the chain's new Dufferin Mall location in Toronto and at the newly renovated store at the Bayshore Shopping Centre in Ottawa.

And if that deal isn't sweet enough, the first 200 people to redeem their certificates will receive a free, mystery $10 gift.

As someone who has previously purchased similar Body Shop deals, I can tell you that these certificates are a great excuse to stock up on old favourites and try something new. I think I might pick up one of my favourite Body Shop items, the Cocoa Butter Body Butter, as well as give the Almond Nail & Cuticle Oil a shot.

If you do take advantage of this deal (and you can purchase up to three certificates for yourself and three as gifts), be sure to redeem your certificate before its June 30, 2014, expiry date (though really, how hard is it to spend $30 at The Body Shop).

***This post has been sponsored by Buytopia***

The Body Shop Grapeseed Glossing Serum

There are two ways that a product can suck:

1.  It causes a negative reaction, such as blemishes or dry hair;
2.  It doesn’t do anything at all.

While there’s no question that scenario #1 is worse, scenario #2 can also be pretty frustrating since you find yourself thinking about how you basically just threw your money away on something that does nothing.

That’s how I feel about The Body Shop’s Grapeseed Glossing Serum because this product did absolutely zilch for my hair. According to The Body Shop “This serum smoothes hair and gives it natural-looking shine.” And I guess it does provide “natural-looking shine” since the shine level in my hair looked exactly the same, regardless of whether or not I used this product. But it did nothing to prevent or fight frizziness and flyaways.

The Body Shop All-In-One BB Cream

Sometimes a product can almost completely deliver on its claims and still be disappointing. Well, disappointing to me; I'm sure that for some people, The Body Shop’s first-ever BB cream is perfect.

This product’s first claim is that it “transforms from a white cream to suit your skin tone.” But, unlike many similar products that chalk this transformation up to fancy science or magic, this one is quite honest about how it goes from white to flesh-toned: “Pigment-filled capsules burst when applied to the skin, releasing the colour inside.” Yep, that’s how that works (though in some products, it’s oxidization that triggers the colour change).

As for the results, the #01 shade of this product did match my pale, pasty skin perfectly and did indeed leave me with an “even, undetectable finish.” Unfortunately, this product is only offered in three shades so the “…suit your skin tone…” part really only applies to a limited percentage of the population.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Cream

Consider this a “partial” review as I only tested this daily moisturizer for about a week, instead of my usual two (or more) testing period for face creams.

According to The Body Shop’s webpage on this product, it’s a great loved item that, “…has the lightness of a lotion with the moisturising benefits of a cream. It helps protect the skin, leaving it feeling soft, smooth and healthy-looking.”

My biggest problem with this product is that is doesn’t have any SPF in it and because of that, I completely disagree with the “…helps protect the skin…” claim.

The Body Shop Concealer

I have no idea why I bought this product. Maybe I read a positive review of it somewhere or maybe it was on sale and I just impulsively bought it. Whatever the reason, it was not a good purchase, at least not for me.

I like applying my makeup with my fingers whenever possible and unfortunately, I can’t really do that with this stick product. I works best when you applying to directly to whatever blemish you’re trying to cover up and personally, I don’t like that method.

However, unlike some stick products out there, this one does go on easily and with minimal pressure, which is key since you might be using this concealer to cover up a pimple.

The Body Shop Spa Wisdom Morocco Black Olive & Argan Oil Scrub

Of all of the products I received in my Body Shop Elle-Magazine-best-of-2011 gift basket, this scrub was the one I was the most looking forward to using. I love body scrubs and the idea of one made with Morocco black olive and Argan oil (the same stuff that’s in Moroccan Oil) sounded really decadent. Plus the scrub came packaged in a sleek plastic container with one of those metal snaps on the lid.

But because I received this scrub shortly after I had opened jumbo sized container of another scrub, I ended up putting this new item under the sink and then forgot about it until a couple of weeks when I happily rediscovered it.

The Body Shop’s Rainforest Radiance Shampoo

Reviewing shampoos is tricky because you never just use shampoo on its own, so you can never really tell is it the shampoo that’s working/not working, or the conditioner, or the anti-frizz serum or some combo of those products.

 Yeah, I could just test out the shampoo but I don’t think that’s fair because generally, at least for shampoo aimed at women with colour-treated hair, the manufacturer doesn’t expect you to use just that product on its own. And unlike some skin care products, shampoo never claims to do it all, it always needs backup products.

Reminder: Enter My Contest!

Just a reminder: I'm running a contest to win a Body Shop prize pack!

One lucky person will take home the following items:

Warming Mineral Mask – “This mask magically warms itself up as you smooth it on. With feel-good ginger, cinnamon oil, and kaolin clay to deep cleanse all skin types.” 

Cocoa Butter Creamy Body Wash – “Indulge your skin and senses in a moisture-rich, ultra-creamy body wash that creates a decadent chocolate-scented lather.”

Refining Bath Lily – “Increase the lather of your favorite shower gel with a lovely bath lily that gently exfoliates to remove dead skin cells.”

Exfoliating Bath Gloves – “Get even more of a lather with these textured bath mitts that exfoliate gently.”

Want to win? Then head over here to find out how.

Win a Body Shop Prize Pack!

*This contest is now over. Congrats to Crystal for winning it!*

I’ve decided to kick off 2012 with a contest. One lucky person will take home the following items from The Body Shop:

Warming Mineral Mask – “This mask magically warms itself up as you smooth it on. With feel-good ginger, cinnamon oil, and kaolin clay to deep cleanse all skin types.” 

Cocoa Butter Creamy Body Wash – “Indulge your skin and senses in a moisture-rich, ultra-creamy body wash that creates a decadent chocolate-scented lather.”

Refining Bath Lily – “Increase the lather of your favorite shower gel with a lovely bath lily that gently exfoliates to remove dead skin cells.”

Exfoliating Bath Gloves – “Get even more of a lather with these textured bath mitts that exfoliate gently.”

Want to win? Then simply “like” this blog using the Facebook Like widget over on the right and then leave a comment letting me know what name you’ve “liked” me under, as well as your email address.

*Note: Comments will only appear after I've approved them and yes, anyone can now comment*
For bonus entries, tweet this: Hey @luckbealindsay I wanna win Body Shop stuff from http://stufflindsaybought.blogspot.com/

And then leave a comment that contains your tweet’s URL, as well as your email address. If you want, you can tweet about this contest once per day and earn an entry for each tweet.

Finally, for a whopping five bonus entries, follow this blog by either using Facebook’s NetworkedBlogs app (in the sidebar) or Google Friend Connect (down in the footer). Be sure to leave another comment to let me know that you’ve done that.

This contest starts now and runs until 11 am on Saturday, January 21. It’s open to all Canadian residents (except those in Quebec) who are over 18 and can answer a simple math question. I’ll contact the winner via email the weekend of January 21/22 and yes, the prize must be accepted as awarded.

Good luck!

The Body Shop Natrulift Firming Day Cream

I won this day cream, made with organic pomegranate, as part of my Body Shop prize pack. It’s not something that I would have bought on my own since, according to its packaging, it’s supposed to make skin feel “firmer” and wrinkles “softer”, two areas that don’t currently concern me.

But since I now own a jar of this product, I decided to try it out and I’m sort of glad I did. While I can’t comment on whether or not this cream does have, “…a temporary lifting effect”, it does make my skin brighter, softer and very moisturized.

The Body Shop Body Butter Duo in Floral Acai

When I first heard about The Body Shop’s Body Butter Duos I thought, “What a gimmicky idea.” Each duo (there are four flavours) uses a typical body butter container that’s divided in two: One half is for “normal skin areas” while the other half is for “dry skin areas.”

This packaging is why I found the whole idea of this product gimmicky. I will give you that some people want/need a heavier moisturizer for certain parts but packaging it with a lighter moisturizer just doesn’t make  sense to me because I really doubt most people are using both types of creams at the same rate. And then you end up with one side being empty and needing more of that kind while the other side is still half full and… You get my point. Personally, I don’t see this product being as convenient as it first seems.

Delipscious Tinted Lip Balm

Delipscious Tinted Lip Balm is one of the products that I recently won from The Body Shop. I’m quite pleased that it was included in the basket because it’s one of those items that I never would have picked up but now that I’ve tried it, will definitely buy again.

Why wouldn’t I have tried it? Mainly because in tube form, the colours don’t look that special. And there’s no way I would have picked up the colour I won, papaya crush, because of its slight orange-iness. But while the colour doesn’t look that great in the tube, it really works well on my lips.

Tea Tree Cleansing Wipes

Picking up a package of these disposable face clothes for my European travels was one of the best ideas I had during my whole trip.

While these wipes are certainly not a replacement for a proper skin cleaning routine, they do work great for those times when you need to wash your face but don’t have access to a proper bathroom (or don’t feel like washing your face in an Italian service station washroom).

Made with a surprisingly durable paper “cloth”, these wipes do a thorough job at taking off makeup and daily grim, leaving your skin feeling clean and refreshed.

The Body Shop For Men Maca Root Face Scrub

Yes, Body Shop week was last week here on my blog but I figured that I’d post my review of For Men Maca Root Face Scrub today as sort of a “bonus” entry.

As you’ve probably guessed by the product name, this item isn’t for me, it’s for my husband. But I tried it any way and you know what, it was OK.

Made with rice, this is a very gritty scrub, much grittier than most face scrubs out there.

The Body Shop’s Warming Mineral Mask

The Body Shop’s Warming Mineral Mask is total guilty pleasure of mine. I call it a guilty pleasure because it’s a product I love to use even though it doesn’t really benefit my skin (though as I describe below, I have found one positive use for it).  But it feels so great on that I don’t care, I use it anyways.

This mask really is self-warming and not “lukewarm” but actually warm. It feels like clay that’s been sitting out in the hot sun all deal, slowly cooking until it’s reached the ideal muscle-relaxing temperature. For some reason, this warming sensation only kicks in after you've applied it to your face so besides feeling great, this stuff also seems a little magical.

The Body Shopy Rainforest Moisture Hair Butter

I received a jar of The Body Shop’s Rainforest Moisture Hair Butter as a Christmas gift and initially I didn’t know what to do with it since, like many Body Shop products, it didn’t come with instructions.

I have since learned that you can use this product as a hair mask or to soften and detangle wet hair after washing it. However, I prefer to use it in my ongoing war on fly-aways.

I tend to get fly-aways/frizz around the crown of my head. It’s a problem that’s only made worse by humidity, something that Toronto summers are always full of. Now, there are dozens and dozens of products out there that fight this problem and some of them are pretty good, even better than Rainforest Butter, but I’ve yet to find a frizz-fighting product that’s as portable as this one.