Shea Waste of Money (The Body Shop Shea Body Butter)

Member Name: Teteenlair

Product:	The Body Shop Shea Body Butter
Date:	04/08/09 (87 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The noble ethics

Disadvantages: The smell, the price

I don't normally shop in The Body Shop because, although their kind to animals and fair trade ethos really appeal to me, and I know from experience that they do make some brilliant products, I find it just too expensive compared to other high street retailers - there's no way I'm going to spend £6 on a shower gel when I can get a £1.50 one just as nice down the road, AND it's BOGOF! So when I saw this Shea Body Butter as a free gift with a magazine a few months ago, it was a great opportunity for me to sample one of their most popular products.

My trial size came in a 50ml flattish, round, screw-top plastic tub with an image of Shea nuts on the lid. This size would normally retail for £4.85; the larger 200ml tub normally retails for £12.20 but I noticed that at the time of writing this was available on the website for £9.76. The product is described as "An intensive, creamy all-over body moisturiser. It absorbs into the skin easily, helping to condition, soften and smooth the skin and prevent dryness, leaving your skin moisturised for up to 24 hours".

The body butter is very thick and a smooth creamy white colour. Because of the thick consistency, it's sensible to put it in a tub rather than a squeezy tube, but I didn't like the fact that I ended up with the product under my nails from scooping it out. I have to say it is the butteriest body butter I've ever used - it is the same consistency and has a sheen to it like butter, and it seems to melt into the warmth of your skin.

For this reason it is very easy to apply - it just glides over your skin and seems to be absorbed straight away. I did feel the need to wash my hands afterwards though as they felt quite greasy and clammy, I couldn't seem to get rid of the butter residue just by rubbing it in. Similarly, I later noticed that where the product had seemingly melted into my skin, I could actually still feel it. This wasn't so bad on my legs, which are out of the way most of the time, but every time I touched my arms throughout the day they felt greasy and clammy with an almost palpable residue of the body butter sitting heavily on the surface of my skin. I realise that this body butter is meant for 'VERY dry skin', but even so, I don't think having a film of something on your skin is much of an improvement on dry skin!

And now we get to the worst thing about this product: the smell. Upon smelling it straight from the tub, it seems subtle and innocuous enough - 'neither nowt nor summat' really, a very beige smell. But once it had been on my skin a few hours I realised that it's not subtle at all and every time I moved I was getting whiffs. Once it had settled on my skin the scent started to remind me of the sawdusty, hay-y, rabbit foody smell of the inside of a pet shop - not very appealing at all!

I realise that my review is going against the grain of all the other reviews on here, and that of those on the Body Shop website where it is described as smelling "beautiful and sexy" (!) and being "non-greasy", and where more than one person says they use it as a night cream on their face! I can't believe they're talking about the same product. I'll give it two stars because it is fair trade and not tested on animals, and it was nice to apply, but there are no other redeeming features of this butter.

Summary: There are far nicer body butters out there for your £12