Review: ESPA Smooth & Firm Body Butter

I don’t try a lot of ‘SPA brands’. Not because I don’t like them, they just tend to be notoriously difficult to get a hold of, unless you visit spas very often (which I don’t). ESPA is a totally new brand to me and will be for most Australian Beauties I think. ESPA is a British brand that makes all of their products in the UK. I give them a big tick for that – I love it when brands support their local economy, by making products in their ‘own backyards’. The brand has released a whole range of candles, body care, hair care and skin care products, with the idea that you can recreate a little tranquility in your own home, every day. I can agree with this being important (taking care of yourself at home) because let’s face it, I may go to a beauty salon once a year? Maybe twice in a 12 month period, IF I’m on a roll lol! The products look to be super luxe (as are the prices…) but I love the use of botanicals and the simple aesthetics of the packaging. There’s lots of ‘stone’ and glass mirrored in the packaging, which reminds me of the UK’s rocky coast line and sea 🙂 The products are now easily accessible on RY so I wanted to give them a go! I chose the Smooth and Firm Body Butter as it’s winter time and my skin needs a more nourishing body cream, but I also love creams that ‘firm’ up the skin. I don’t know if such creams actually firm things up, but I do know that skin just looks a million times better with regular use (and regular ‘care’ and attention of course!).

An intensely rich body butter to nourish, smooth and tone, leaving skin soft and supple. Hydrating Larch and Pumpkin Seed Extract helps smooth and firm while Rosehip, Argan Oil and Vitamin E nourish and even skin tone. Delicately fragranced with uplifting Rose, Patchouli and Mandarin Essential Oils.For best results:Use morning and evening after your bath or shower. Massage into skin in firm, upward, circular movements until fully absorbed. To enhance the benefits, use after Body Smoothing Shower Gel.

Because the body cream is packed full of botanicals and essential oils, I was worried the scent would be overpowering and suffocating. Thankfully, the scent of the cream is subtle – not so subtle that you can barely pick up any trace of true essential oils, but not so suffocating that the scent dominates your entire surrounds and nose. It’s perfectly balanced (hence the ‘delicately fragranced’ product description, which is spot on!). The Patchouli is probably the most dominating note in the cream, so it gives off a ‘warming’ and comforting vibe. I can pick up just a touch of mandarin, which probably lightens the mood, making the cream less ‘stuffy’. I can’t smell any rose at all, but that may be just me. It must be in there somewhere! The scent is noticeable as you massage the cream into your skin but it fades away with time and again, it would probably only be noticeable to those around you if they were standing very close to you 😉

OriginsAt ESPA we are guided by a holistic philosophy, caring for your whole wellbeing, focusing on creating natural skincare products that could deliver both instant benefits and also work beneath the skins surface to protect the long term health and beauty of the skin.Working with biochemists, skin experts and aromatherapists, we took the knowledge from traditional holistic therapies and combined this with the scientific power of the purest natural ingredients from around the world, developing a range of natural products and treatments to help you to have beautiful skin and inner calm.Products Loved by our customers all around the world, our Tri-Active™ formulations contain unique combinations of plant actives, marine actives and essential oils to create the most effective, natural products.Our Biochemists carefully select and distill the highest quality, purest ingredients from nature, using them at their optimal levels to create products which work on the structure and health of the skin for the long term as well as delivering immediate results.Every product is expertly crafted to deliver an ESPA sensory experience through the beautiful aromatherapy blends and the unique formulation textures.

Natural vs. Synthetic

‘Natural’. Everyone will tell you they are. But if they don’t tell you what they mean by it, you really don’t know what’s in your skincare.So, when we say we use natural ingredients, we mean we use ingredients from one of only four sources:Physically-processed ingredients – like cold-pressing avocado oil or steam distillation to extract rose oil. These time-honoured techniques are designed to release the delicate oils in their purest form.Laboratory-processed ingredients – where we use water, glycerine etc to extract the ingredient from its natural source.Naturally derived ingredients – where we take a natural raw ingredient – like coconut or olive oil – and process it to produce something that performs better than its natural form.

I love the ingredient list – besides the essential oils we have already mentioned, there is also orange peel, bitter orange, palmarosa (an Indian grass that smells refreshing and a little rosy) and lemon peel oil. Shea butter, glycerin, argan, sunflower and rosehip oil, make the cream super nourishing and hydrating. Yes, the body cream is a butter (so it’s thick) but the texture is super silky. I’ve never used such a silky body butter before. It’s like they’ve refined all the ingredients into a fluffy, airy cloud of butter 🙂 The cream does leave a thin slippy layer of cream on top of the skin even after you’ve massaged it in, but I think this is always going to be the case when you are talking about a butter, as they generally contain a mix of nourishing oils. I will say that a difference between this body butter and say another (like from the Body Shop) is that it isn’t quite as greasy as others that I’ve tried. It’s comforting and nourishing – everything you would expect from such a luxe body cream! I apply mine in the evenings after a bath – it’s the perfect product to unwind with and it makes your pyjamas smell delicious to boot 🙂

The packaging is very luxe too. It come in a heavy frosted glass jar. The lid is not stone even though it has that ‘look’. It would have been super cool if it were – though I suppose that could be unpractical… So the lid is made of plastic instead 🙂 Now the cream itself is exxy, as you might expect. It costs $141 at RY (an official and reputable stockist btw!) but what I’ve noticed as I get older, is that I really appreciate something that is well made, with a brilliant ethos behind the brand and if it makes me feel good! Sure, I can’t afford to use the cream for the rest of my days (I’m not rich I’m afraid!) but as a birthday present or a gift to say thank you to someone, it will make them feel special not only when they receive it but also when they use it 🙂 You certainly don’t need a whole bunch of products to make up a gift, when you have something as special at this! Simplicity and thoughtfulness is key <3

I love the well thought out formula of the ESPA Smooth & Firm Body Butter, plus the aromatherapy benefits (relaxing and warming). I will definitely keep exploring the range and look to the brand when I am trying to find that little something for someone special 😉 Let me know if you’ve ever tried the brand (and if so, what products) and whether or not you are drawn to ‘salon brands’ in general.

Catch ya next time Beauties,

Beauty Bee~

Please follow and like us:

#ESPAskincare #essentialoils #aromatherapy #firmingbodycream #SheaButter #bodybutter #bodycream #ESPA #Englishbeautybrands #rosehipoil #sunflowerseedoil #ArganOil