Cocoa butter gel body oil - natural glow? (Vaseline Cocoa Butter Vitalising Gel Body Oil)

Member Name: veronica115012

Product:	Vaseline Cocoa Butter Vitalising Gel Body Oil
Date:	27/10/09 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Makes skin soft, smells lovely

Disadvantages: Greasy if applied onto dry skin, takes forever to absorb

Having run out of my favourite Jergens Naturals body moisturizer (see my previous review), I had to get some new supply. My skin is so dry it cannot survive a day without a body moisturizer so I desperately needed one.

I was planning to do my main shopping that day so I went to Tesco instead of my usual Boots. Unfortunately, they didn't have any Jergens cosmetics and they range in stock was quite limited. I haven't previously used on of the body moisturizing products on display so I opted for one on offer - £2.44 for 200ml. If I didn't like it, at least I wouldn't have to use it for a long time and wouldn't have spent a lot of money on it.

The product I chose was Vaseline Cocoa Butter Vitalising Gel Body Oil and the magic word for me was 'gel'. I thought this would be a good consistency - light and quickly absorbing. I know that two of the main ingredients - cocoa butter and almond oil have moisturizing properties so I couldn't go wrong with this. I didn't really pay much attention to what the consistency was in reality. The product was in a transparent bottle and looked quite clearly like a proper gel. I quickly read the description on the back (it said that the product locks in moisture, which confirmed this was definitely what I wanted) and put the bottle in my trolley.


------ Talking about the bottle ------

It contains 200 ml of the product. I assume this is the only format of this body oil as I haven't seen any other size on the shelf. The bottle is quite simple and transparent with a brown lid that easily flips open (and the colour matches the main ingredients).
The bottle is slightly narrow in the centre part, which makes it comfortable to hold, so this is easy to grip. I also like the flip opening of the bottle. It is always easier to open and close a moisturizer with such opening instead of trying to unscrew the cap with greasy hands.
The top of the lid is flat and it is the same size as the bottom of the bottle, so when the product is nearly finished, you can stand it upside down to extract the last drops of the body oil. No need to worry about it leaking - the gel is not as runny as a standard body oil. I did a little experiment at home and there was no problem whatsoever.

The front label is also very simple. It features a Vaseline logo on top, slightly lower is the name of the product and main ingredients, at the bottom there is a picture of a cocoa been (or an almond, I wasn't sure).

A description on the bottle says: "When skin is healthy and hydrated, light reflects off the rich colour below the surface, giving it an amazing natural glow". I am sure this is the effect this product is supposed to achieve but I am not really sure there is a glow because the skin is healthy and hydrated. I would say the glow is caused by the thin film of oil from this product rather than the skin being so well moisturized. However, I do have to confirm there is a glow after about half an hour when the product is absorbed by the skin.

After opening the lid, you can instantly smell cocoa, vanilla and almond. This is quite an intense but pleasant smell that stays on the skin for a few hours.


------ What's in the bottle? ------

A transparent fluid with a hint of beige colour which reminds me of what the main ingredients are: cocoa butter, brazilian nut and almond oils. The gel is full of air bubbles, not really sure if there is any special purpose they serve in this product or if it is just a manufacturing 'defect'. However, I have instantly associated bubbles with a gel format when looking at various moisturisers in the supermarket, so I guess they make this product stand out on the shelf.


------ Ingredients ------

Just for those who are interested or have sensitivity to some of the ingredients, this is a full list from the bottle:
Paraffinum Liquidum, Hydrogenated Styrene/ Butadiene Copolymer, Bertholletia Excelsa Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Parfum, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Coumarin, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde.


------ Consistency ------

Knowing that the product was supposed to be in a gel format, I was expecting a tick consistency, something of a hair gel consistency that you have to squeeze from the bottle in order to get it out. This is a complete opposite with this product. It is very runny for a gel and I was surprised that after flipping the lid up (without any squeezing to the bottle) some of it came out onto the surface and that amount was more than I even wanted to apply. This is a minus because with each application I have to be careful not to release too much of the product from the bottle.


------ How to use it? ------

What I found a little confusing is that there are no clear instructions on how to use this product. I have previously used body oils that needed to be applied on wet skin (so they can capture the water from the skin and keep it inside), ones that should be applied on dry skin (these usually don't give as much hydration) and also other body oils you could use either way. The instructions on this bottle only say you should use this after bathing. On wet skin or dry skin? No one knows. And what is wrong with application after showering? Is there any difference? Well, I don't have a bath so will be using this after taking a shower.


------ Application on dry skin - my experience ------

This product was supposed to be a gel, which I associate with being light and easily absorbed, but in fact the product is quite oily. It is not as runny as standard body oil but also not as thick as a standard gel format.
The consistency is not very thick but unfortunately doesn't spread on the skin very well. I think that the standard body oil spreads much easier and you don't have to use as much. In case of this product, it is not possible to use just a little because you won't be able to cover the whole body.

The negative side to it is that you have to use quite a lot for one application (at least according to my standards), which makes the skin greasy and also makes this product not last long. I estimate it would run out after a month or so, while other body products last about twice as much.

Usually after using body oil which doesn't have enough hydrating ingredients my skin feels very tight, uncomfortable and itchy. The skin doesn't feel moisturized but as if I put on some cooking oil on it. After using this product on dry skin after a shower, my skin felt ok but after
the third application I started to feel the itch, which wasn't comfortable.
The skin was shiny as if after using regular body oil.

About 5 minutes after first application, I touched my arm with the palm of my hand and, as I could imagine, my palm became oily. The product was absorbed by my skin to a satisfactory level after about half an hour, which is way too long for my liking. However, my skin still looked a bit too shiny. Interestingly enough, there was no oily residue on my clothes after using this gel. I do have too say that my skin felt somewhat softer and smoother.
However, I didn't like this greasy film and thought that the product didn't really moisturize my skin but left an oily film that 'pretended' to moisturize but didn't really do anything. My skin is not easily deceived by something like that.

After three days of using the product on dry skin, I decided to try again but applying this to wet skin.


------ Application on wet skin - my experience ------

Much, much better! First of all, application on wet skin is quicker and easier as the body oil glides on the skin and can be spread better on the skin. For the same reason you don't need to use as much as you would do using this on dry skin. Also the product can capture moisture from the water drops on your skin and keep some of this moisture inside.

The only minus of using a body oil this way is that eventually you need to dry the skin with a towel and even if you do it gently, the towel will absorb some of the product, meaning that you will need to wash it more often. On the other hand, what is absorbed by the towel would be a greasy film on your skin anyway, so at least you are removing the amount of product you don't need.

The result, after applying the gel this way, is soft, nice to touch skin, which feels comfortable and doesn't itch. This is definitely the way I will continue to use this product.


------ Would I recommend? ------

Yes, but only if you find it on offer (I believe the regular price is around £3.50 for 200ml) and use on wet skin. I will personally go back to Jergens Naturals as soon as this bottle finishes.

Just a final thing: this gel is also available as a version with Aloe Vera.


This review has been posted on Ciao under my username.

Summary: Works well on wet skin, terrible on dry... but smells lovely!