I received my Sanctuary Spa Body Butter last Christmas as part of a large boxed gift set from my daughter. The orange coloured box was full of Sanctuary Spa Essentials products and as I was aware of these Sanctuary products but had never tried them before, I was looking forward to using them.

Sanctuary Spa is in Covent Garden, London and they state that their products allow you to recreate the perfect spa experience in the comfort of your home with their "indulgent range of natural beauty products."
Highly rated by many, Sanctuary Spa products are attractively packaged in a plain sort of way, with their orange lids and white bottles and tubs, but despite the plain look, they seem to have a luxurious quality about them. Sanctuary products often can be found on 3 for 2 offers etc in branches of Boots and whilst yes there are cheaper products around, Sanctuary is still affordable to many like myself who enjoy the occasional treat without having to spend a lot of money.

This Body Butter is actually an award winning product, it was Readers Choice Best Rich Moisturiser 2009 at the Women & Home Best Beauty Buys Award 2009.

My first experience of using a body butter instead of the usual body lotions and moisturisers wasn't too long ago, when I was given some as a gift from The Body Shop. I had read many reviews enthusing about body butters and after my first experience using some, I could see why these have became so popular as I felt as if I was really giving my skin a treat by using them.

Part of the appeal of body butter for me is opening the tub and scooping some of the butter out on to my fingers and when I unscrewed the lid of my Sanctuary body butter, the creamy thick formula offered up yet another touch of luxury, which I think is missing when you are squeezing moisturisers from a bottle or tube.
The information on the tub states that this rich, intensive body butter is crammed with cocoa butter and shea butter, laced with almond oil, macadamia oil and Vitamin E.
On opening the tub it is the scent of cocoa butter that reaches you immediately. I could also detect a faint almond scent and also a tinge of what I thought reminded me of honey. Altogether the body butter does have an appealing fragrance and whilst not the best in my opinion, it is by no means unattractive.

After bathing or showering I scoop some of the thick white butter out of the tub with my fingers and slowly work it into my skin, massaging in small circles around my knees and ankles and long sweeping strokes down my legs. I always start with my legs when applying lotions and butters and work my way up my body. I don't have any areas which suffer from dry skin, but I am aware as I am getting older that my skin is losing some of its moisture and so using body butters and moisturisers is now a regular, almost daily part of my skin care routine instead of the once or twice a week thing it used to be. By using a body butter or moisturiser more often, I can both see and feel the benefits as my skin is much softer and hydrated.
Whilst this body butter is thick it still absorbs quickly into my skin. A big bonus is that it does not feel greasy at all and so there is no excessive rubbing needed. Indeed there is nothing I hate more than using a body lotion or moisturiser that takes an age to absorb and leaves a greasy film on my skin and therefore as far as this body butter is concerned, using it is sheer delight in that respect.
After I have finished applying the butter to my skin, I am left with soft skin smelling richly of cocoa butter, which lingers on the skin for hours whilst my skin remains smooth and soft.

The Sanctuary are trying to help you recreate their Spa experience in your own home with these products and although I have only tried a couple of their products from my gift set prior to using this body butter, I would say that they have managed to offer something little different to a lot of products out there. Indeed their tingling body lotion and this body butter have really appealed to me thus far and have provided me with what I would describe as a touch of luxury for my skin.
Whilst I would prefer this body butter to have a different scent other than cocoa butter, I do still like the scent and enjoy using this product, I just simply have a preference for other fragrances and so this is not really a negative.
A tub of this body butter is currently priced at £9.20 at Boots but is actually part of a 3 for 2 offer which I mentioned earlier and you can combine it with other Sanctuary products in the range and get the cheapest free.