For Christmas last year one of my mum's colleagues gave her a Sanctuary spa therapies "Dream time sleep in a box" gift set. My mum tends to stick to brands that she likes using such as Olay and Palmers and is not keen on using body scrubs or bubble baths - strange I know! For this reason any gift sets that she receives usually get divided between me and my two sisters, not that we're complaining! I have used a few products from the Sanctuary range in the past and have been quite impressed so I was pleased to bag this one for myself! The Dream time set contains 4 items from the Sanctuary "night time" range including a 50ml tub of the Sanctuary comforting night butter which I shall focus this review on today.

For those that are unaware of the Sanctuary brand, Sanctuary run a group of one-day spas their main one being in Covent Garden, but they also have some others around the country. They have been around for around 30 years so are a well-established brand. The products that they use on clients visiting the spa are also available on sale in shops like Boots and the skincare products that I received in this gift set are part of that range. Sanctuary explain on the packaging for this range of "Dream time" products the importance of quality rest and regular sleep for ensuring you look and feel your best. For this reason they have developed a range of therapeutic products that not only enable you to enjoy a restful mind and body benefits of a spa treatment at home but are also enriched with skin restoring ingredients and essential oils. I will talk about these in a bit more detail later in the review.

The butter comes housed in a small white transparent plastic tub with a deep purple lid and contains 50ml of product. On the lid is a label with the Sanctuary logo and product name. Out of the gift box the packaging differs slightly in that the pot itself is purple with a gold coloured lid and contains 200ml of product. I must admit the packaging for both the gift set and the full sized product does make it look like a high end luxurious product - I think it's the deep purple colour that does it! The full sized butter retails at £10.25, so it is a fairly expensive product.

As is suggested I tend to use this product at night, applying it just before I go to sleep. On opening the lid I was greeted with a thick, white coloured cream and I noticed the light, sweet fragrance it had straight away, which had a slightly spicy undertone. The butter smells lovely in my opinion and not too floral which is good as this is not a scent that I am keen on. To use, I scooped some product into my hand and started to massage this into my skin, working in circular motions and paying attention to problem parts such as my elbows and knees which tend to get a bit dry. Despite its thick consistency the butter melts into my skin without too much effort and doesn't leave a thick, heavy layer on top, which I have experienced in the past with some butters I have used. It also doesn't feel at all sticky. Just the act of massaging this into my skin leaves me feeling relaxed and thoroughly pampered which then leads onto a good nights sleep, though I am sure some of the ingredients in this butter also have a role to play. Sanctuary advise that this is best applied after an evening shower when the skin is still warm to help it blend in easily, however I don't tend to use it in this way.

In the morning my skin is soft, looks hydrated and has a healthy glow. A hint of the scent still remains but this is washed off in my morning shower. The body butter also does well with dry patches as my knees and elbows have not gone white again with dry skin by the morning, although this only lasts for a few more hours.

The butter is packed with skin restoring ingredients and essential oils including:
-Ylang Ylang which is renouned for reducing tension and stress
-Frankincense which acts to clarify and calm
-Patchouli which helps to reduce anxiety before sleep.

It also contains shea butter, beeswax, mango butter and apricot kernal oil which all act to moisturise and hydrate the skin. The product is paraben free which I was pleased to read as I try to go for products that have as many natural ingredients as possible. Having said that this body butter does also come accompanied with a rather long list of chemical names which was not so impressive.

Overall I must say that I am pleased with this body butter. It blends into the skin easily leaving it feeling healthy, soft, supple and hydrated. This also has a rather pleasant smell and leaves me feeling calm and relaxed and ready for a good nights sleep. Recommended!