Any regular readers of my reviews will be aware by now that I work part time as an Avon representative when my poor health allows. This allows me great access to many of the ranges of cosmetics and skincare items that are available from the Avon company.

One Avon range that I really like is the "Avon Naturals" range, that has undergone a small facelift in recent times, seeing many new items being added to the overall range. A new addition stood out to me as being an appealing product and I decided to try it out for myself.

The product in question is the "Avon Naturals Cherry Blossom Hand & Body Lotion" and the product normally retails at £3 per bottle. I was able to purchase the lotion for only £2 however, and I would point out that the Avon Naturals range is often subject to promotional deals, so it may well be worth keeping an eye out for up and coming offers within the range.

The packaging for the product is fairly simplistic, in keeping with most of the other products in the same range. Comprising of a cylindrical bottle made of clear plastic, I am able to see the pale lotion through the bottle. The bottle is quite a neat size, being 200ml and is quite thin and petite, although this makes it ideal for storing easily and also for travel purposes. As with all body lotion products from the Avon Naturals range, there is an attractive label on front of the bottle that co-ordinates with the scent and image of the product overall, in this case showing some attractive white flowers with pink tones that are in full bloom. There is nothing unisex about the product's appearance or overall image and I think it is presented as being fairly feminine.

The product is more perhaps more versatile than similar offerings as it claims to be suitable for use on body and hands, although I personally think most body lotion products could be used on the hands, unless perhaps they were particularly sensitive and required something a little more nourishing or mild, being suited for sensitive or extremely dry skin.

There is a flip up lid on top of the bottle which allows the product to be dispensed easily. The consistency of the lotion is slightly runny, so it was easy enough to decant it from the bottle. In saying that, it wasn't so runny as to spill or drip everywhere, but it is certainly without any sort of fluffy 'whipped' texture to it. This is not a criticism however, as the lotion felt quite pleasant to use on the skin.

I found too that the lotion spread easily around the skin, without much work or effort being required. This made a little go a surprisingly long way and I felt the bottle was rather economical as a result, making the normal £3 price tag seem like excellent value. Also, the lotion felt pleasantly 'light' when applied to the skin and so it was rapidly - and easily - absorbed and so very little was required in the way of effort from me to achieve this result.

I liked too the fact that the lotion felt non-greasy, even though this has not been what I have found with a couple of similar products from the Avon Naturals range that I have tried out before which had a slightly greasy 'residue' left behind on the skin after use. The Cherry Blossom Hand & Body Lotion in comparison felt quite smooth and light and without any stickiness or 'slicked' feeling being left behind.

The aroma of the lotion is quite understated and unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations which surprised me as most other body lotions from the Avon Naturals range have had gorgeously-rich, fruity aromas for the most part. The Cherry Blossom offering didn't contain nearly as much 'oomph' to its scent as I would have liked, instead being rather understated. I found that once the product was being applied and had absorbed adequately the fragrance took on a little more hold and I was able to detect a citrus-like accent that reminded me of lemon, within the pleasant overall 'delicate floral' scent. This balanced nicely with the pleasant floral contained within the fragrance but to be honest I found the overall fragrance was quite generic, and it felt like a rather mundane product that I may have purchased from a supermarket. This was a bit of a let-down as I had been expecting a more powerful aroma, and to be honest if you had blindfolded me I wouldn't have been able to identify the scent of the product at all, such was its rather 'mundane' aroma.

On the plus side, the product left skin fully moisturised and softened, and without any unpleasant greasy residue as I touched on earlier. I felt that the overall condition of my skin had been adequately moisturised, but the effects didn't blow me away. Whilst skin was softened, I felt that the troublesome patches of dryer-than-average skin that have recently 'flared' on my arms were largely untouched by the use of the Cherry Blossom Lotion, and their appearance remained the same as before after using the lotion. To be fair, using the product did nothing in terms of causing further dryness or aggravation to these sensitive areas, so I do feel the product has a rather gentle formulation.

Overall, I thought the Avon Naturals Cherry Blossom Hand & Body Lotion was ok, and I did use up the remainder of the bottle. However I have to be honest and admit that I didn't feel that the scent or the results achieved from using the product were outstanding or even above average, and for that reason I would probably not repurchase the product again in the future.

If you want to try the Cherry Blossom Lotion for yourself, you can purchase it online at www.avonshop.co.uk, where the usual price is £3.00, or you can order directly from your local Avon Representative.