Review: The Body Shop's Aloe Vera Protective Serum

Earlier this year, my skin went really dodgy.  I don't know what happened to it but it went from being combination to really really dry.  Nothing I did was good enough until I bought Garnier's toner (reviewed here) and The Body Shop's Aloe Vera Protective Serum.

I tried tonnes of moisturisers that promised to inject some moisture back in but none of them did anything so I went on the hunt for something new.  I saw this in The Body Shop and was sold as soon as it said it reinforced your natural shield.

I bought it..used it and saw a difference after the first couple of days.  I don't believe that it gives your skin extra moisture, I think it just locks in the moisture you already have..that's what I'm lead to believe from the blurb on it.

You don't need to use a lot of it either, just a thin layer under your face cream.  Don't put too much on as otherwise I found it did nothing and you greased up really quickly.

When I thought it'd done its job, I put it away..

Now the weather has turned again and I've taken it out.   I don't have much left and I really wanted to finish it before throwing it away.

This is where my complaint comes in.  I have had this since about February/March time.  The little "use by" box says that once this is opened, it will last for 12 months.  It has already gone off.  How do I know this?  It doesn't smell like it used to.  It had a gentle scent to it before that you could barely sniff out but now it smells like freshly paint wood and that smell is really potent.

Me being a div, decided to carry on using it as it was nearly finished.  Big mistake.  I've got some annoying spots on my forehead and on my cheeks and I know it is because of this as nothing else has changed.  Well, one thing changed but that was weeks before I started using this again.

In conclusion, it does work but be sure to use it up continuously after you've opened it because it goes off fast.  I'm not sure why it went off though, I don't recall it having something special seal that I broke?  Maybe it's because I'd used the pump action.  I can't even type the words pump action without laughing.

Anyway, if your skin is really dry and nothing seems to work, this definitely helps.  It costs £10 and is available from The Body Shop. 

Garnier Body Intensive 7 Days Ultra Softening Lotion; Dry to Extra-Dry Skin Shea Butter: My Holy Grail Body Moisturiser

I saw Garnier's Body Intensive Lotion a good few months ago when looking for something else on the Superdrug site.  When I was next instore, I picked it up..amongst other things I didn't really need.  It was on an introductory offer for £1.99 so it wouldn't have been a massive loss has I not liked it (usual price for this size is £2.99).

It's availabe in the following variations: 

• Aloe Vera: Normal Skin
• Mango Oil: Dry Skin
• Honey: Sensitive Skin
• Cocoa Butter: Dry and Rough Skin
  
• Shea Butter: Dry to Extra-Dry Skin

I have the latter.

The main draw with this was the claim that "skin feels intensely hydrated for up to seven days".  I thought that this meant you could whack it on one day and seven days later, you're skin would still be soft.  That isn't what they mean.

What it actually means is that if you use it twice daily for four weeks and then have a week off, your skin will remain intensely hydrated for that week off.

The cynic in me was thinking "wouldn't that happen with every moisturiser you use?  And what's with the twice daily bit?"

So, I decided to test it out.

Twice daily for four weeks I used my previous body moisturiser (this Aveeno one).  I then left it a week.  Then for another four weeks I managed to slap this on twice a day.  I also left that for a week.

What did I discover?
Firstly, moisturising twice a day is time consuming if you don't have the right moisturiser.  And skirts are your friends during these times.

My previous moisturiser really takes a while to sink in when I compare it to the Garnier one and using it twice a day makes me feel icky.  It also doesn't moisturise as well as I first thought as my skin was very dry for that last week.

The Garnier one applied like a dream, sunk in nicely and didn't give the feeling of ick.  I applied it twice a day and it didn't make me feel greasy and my skin stayed nicely moisturised for the week off.

I shower every single day and that is usually the cause of my dry skin.  Whilst carrying on this experiment, I didn't cease with the showering.

I was more than impressed to see that the Garnier moisturiser held up to its claims whereas the Aveeno one literally hung me out to dry.  Usually when I don't moisturise, my skin looks flaky but during my week off from Garnier, it was soft, smooth and moisturised.

Another plus side to the Garnier one is that it doesn't sting after I've shaved my legs whereas one of the Aveeno variants did this..I believe it was the Lavender one.  One of the main issues I have with body moisturiser is that my feet dry out really quickly as I don't wear tights.  When I use this, my feet stay hydrated all week long.

I stopped using the Garnier moisturiser for a few weeks and then went back to using it once a day and even with that, it keeps your skin moisturised for the week off.

My skin has never felt as soft as it does at the moment and it is all down to this moisturiser.

And Garnier get extra points for:

• The smell: it's nice but not overpowering.
• The consistency: PERFECT.  Not too heavy and it sinks in with ease.  
• The packaging: Notice how the bottle dents in a bit at the sides?   I thought that was just a quirk of design but they've actually thought about that and it's dented so that it's easy to hold and doesn't go flying out of your hand.  Good thinking Garnier!
• The price: Full price for the size I have is only £2.99 and for the larger one is £4.99
• The range: I'm impressed that they haven't just brought out a one size fits all soloution and that they have different moisturisers for different skin issues.
• The size range: It comes in two sizes.
• How long it lasts: I can get about eight weeks constant usage from one bottle.  For £2.99, that ain't bad!  It's even better when it was £1.99 but skincare is always on offer so keep your eye out.

At the moment, you can pick the smaller sized one for £2.99 and the larger one for £4.99 but in Boots, they're in the 3 for 2.  I'm on a no buy but as I've "gifted" my other moisturisers to my mum, I'm allowing myself to stock up.

A tale of 12 moisturisers..

I jumped onto the bandwagon of daily body moisturising back in 2005 when I had finished my law degree and was working the summer before doing my LPC..a bandwagon which I quickly disembarked when I realised just how heavy the workload of the LPC was.

But, I hear you say, that was nearly 6 years ago, why are you still packing heat?  Well, I was moisturising during the interim, albeit sporadically.  I also kept buying more and more in the hope that I'd once again have the time to moisturise everyday because, you know, getting the LPC out of the way was the hard part, not what came after it *ahem*. 

I've reviewed the Aveeno ones in detail here but pace yourselves for a speed review of the rest.

Olay Body Quench Mousse:  If you use too much, you will feel sticky and greasy for ages.  I find the best way to use this is to squash it into your skin and then slide your hand down to let it soak in.  This makes your hands sticky and this will transfer onto the canister.  On the plus side, the bottle lasts an age.  It is also very cheap.  It cost me £1 from the Pound Shop and it is a permanent fixture as I have always seen it there.  They have another variant for people who have normal skin.  If you moisturise after shaving/waxing, don't use this as it stings like a motherfudger.  

Would I buy it again? No.  It doesn't give my skin enough moisture and takes ages to dry properly.