This is definately not a Fair Trade! (Lush Fair Trade Foot Lotion)

Member Name: sweetpea01

Product:	Lush Fair Trade Foot Lotion
Date:	15/05/09 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Does moisturise your tootsies

Disadvantages: Can stain fabric

As I suffer with dry skin my feet are no exception, especially when you're on them nearly all day everyday and are subjected to most weather conditions! Whether it's rain and there probably in wellingtons and whether it's sunny and warm and in a park of my beloved Birkenstocks my feet do get abused and I religiously try and look after them as much as possible.

Now before I became a Lush devotee many years back (10 to be precise!) I was a huge fan of The Body Shop, all my friends used their products and it was just the done thing to buy your body products there and let's face it The Body Shop is a household name. I have to say I'm quite glad I did convert to Lush as I was too happy when The Body Shop's original owner then sold the company off to L'Oreal who test on animals.

Well it just so happens that Mark Constantine (Lush's founder) used to be a supplier for The Body Shop (I wonder if he stole any beauty recipes!) Well fancy that! He had originally designed and made the peppermint foot lotion at The Body Shop and he now had re-formulated a similar foot lotion for Lush and it was called Fair Trade!! Another pink foot cream!

After using The Body Shop's foot lotion (partly because it was so darn good) I was finally relieved that I could continue using a similar cream and best of all made by the same person! Now that's where my excitement ends I'm afraid people. The only thing "Fair Trade" about this product is the cocoa butter that's about it! A decent foot lotion that pales in comparison to the simple, cheap application of a Vitamin E capsule to feet each night (best healer on earth, that), I've only ever found one draw to pricier foot lotions; something with a perkily cooling, anti-inflammatory effect. Fair Trade has more of a candied mint fragrance, and so, that tingly feeling of before is no more. I was expecting Fair Trade to smell exactly like the peppermint foot lotion from The Body Shop, that real instant hit of mint.

Additionally, though it's coloured pink much like Mark's original lotion, Fair Trade's dyes have a tendency towards staining fabric; you have to be ultra cautious when applying this lotion with trousers on, and equally careful while this lotion is still on your hands, as everything it touches turns pretty in pink which is certainly not ideal as if you are like me and have white bed sheets, white towels etc! So make sure you thoroughly massage this lotion into your skin, and note that when liberally applied as an intensive overnight treatment, it will permanently stain your moisture booties but I can forgive that!

With all of this need for additional care, and without the cooling sensation that one has come to expect from a mint lotion, my advice is to save yourself a "mint" by heading to a health food store and picking up a bottle of those Vitamin E capsules for half the price. I'm all for great products and don't mind spending the extra on something that I really like but Fair Trade is actually quite a hassle! And I have been left with a stained towel which now belongs to my dog when he has a bath!

I personally now opt for capsules of Vitamin E (which I bought very easily in Holland Barratt) and I therefore spend your saved pennies on a pot of Mask Of Magnaminty for occasional use as a cooling, exfoliating foot, ankle, and lower leg mask to relieve swelling and to soothe your joints and muscles after a long day's work (or a long flight). You'll be mighty glad you did and your bank balance will certainly look a lot happier!

However I can't say all bad things about Fair Trade! On opening the tub it does have that beautiful candy pink colour which looks like a strawberry yoghurt just without the seeds, it also has the same thickish consistency as yoghurt which is ideal as you don't use too much. The foot lotion sinks into the skin really quickly and your feet do stay moisturised all day. Yes my feet were soft and supple and I no longer had bad heels but as I said above I'd rather not have the hassle (or the stained towels!)

What Lush say:-

Minty revitalisation for feet with fairly traded cocoa butter.
Pink and perky, one very very minty cream for your feet which helps to ease the abuse they get, jammed into shoes and stood on all day. We use both spearmint and peppermint essential oils which relieve aches and make hot feet feel cool again. Arnica and marigold herbs take away the weariness and get your feet ready to wear your highest heels or to be seen naked and proud of it.

Fair Trade is available online and in store for £7.59 per pot which is slightly expensive I think for something I'm not overly impressed with and I certainly won't be buying another pot in the near future. But for other people it might by the perfect cream.

Summary: I'd rather save my pennies