The Body Shop - lovely ethical products (The Body Shop)

Member Name: jesperado

Product:	The Body Shop
Date:	11/06/09 (96 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great products from a company with principles

Disadvantages: The price!

COMPANY INFORMATION: The Body Shop is a British high street store selling cosmetics, beauty products, toiletries and gifts; Dame Anita Roddick founded it in 1976 and there are now over 2,400 spanning across 61 countries. The Body Shop markets itself as an ethical organisation that supports fair trade and is against animal testing.

PRODUCT RANGE: The Body Shop is one of the most well known British brands of 'natural' beauty products. Think of a part of your body and you can almost guarantee that the Body Shop sells a product to apply to it! Each range tends to be inspired by an ingredient. For example, if you are fond of coconut, you can get shampoo, bath bombs, body lotion, soap, lip butter, body butter, shower gel, hand lotion, bath foam and body scrub all inspired by coconut! Having browsed their website (www.thebodyshop.co.uk) this seems to be one of their bestselling brands.

As well as bath and body products, The Body Shop also does an extensive range of skincare products that use natural ingredients that are good for the skin such as tea tree oil. These are separated into ranges to suit different skin types but which are still based on a main ingredient such as a range of products using jojoba for dry skin. In these ranges you will find the usual types of products you would expect from a skincare range like cleansers, toners and moisturisers. The Body Shop also has its own makeup and fragrance ranges.

MY FAVOURITES: I have combination skin which is prone to blemishes so if you have this type of skin, my favourites might also work for you.

* Tea Tree Oil Foaming Facial Wash £5.85 for 150ml pump bottle: I really like the tea tree oil products but I found the toner a little too harsh on the dry areas of my skin. But the foaming facial wash is just right. In the bottle is a liquid that becomes a light and frothy foam as it is pumped. It forms a gentle lather on the face that is really soft and refreshing. It is not harsh and smells really fresh and clean. I've found that it really helps to calm down my blemishes and leaves my skin soft. I would advise that you use a moisturiser after this product as it can be a little drying.
* Vitamin E Moisture Cream £8.80 for 50 ml tub: I use this after using the foaming facial wash to moisturise my skin. It is the best moisturiser I have found as it is nice and light but not greasy or watery. It is absorbed quickly into the skin so it makes a good base for makeup as you do have to wait for ages before apply foundation or powder. It smells really nice and leaves your skin softy and dewy. It balances out my dry skin areas but I wouldn't recommend this for anyone with very oily skin. Although it is quite expensive, a little goes a long way so it is good value for money.
* Camomile Gentle Eye Makeup Remover currently £5.84 for 250ml bottle (on offer): This does exactly what it says on the bottle. It is a very gentle, non-greasy eye makeup remover that works really well even on heavy makeup.

VALUES: The Body Shop prides itself on being an ethical company and has the five following key values:
* Activate Self Esteem - The Body Shop aims to promote an attainable ideal of beauty and recognises that every person is different. This is why the labelling on their products is quite detailed in terms of the ingredients and what they are good for. Although they do cater to many different skin types, I'm not sure whether the stunningly gorgeous models that they use to advertise their products are really representing 'attainable beauty'
* Against Animal Testing - The company is very committed to this value and have raised awareness of the importance of shopping ethically in this regard.
* Protect Our Planet - The Body Shop aim to use sustainable ingredients for their products and do all they can to limit their impact on the environment as a company
* Support Community Trade - This aims to combat exploitative working practices and establish fair trade with communities throughout the world
* Defend Human Rights - The Body Shop have run a number of campaigns to raise awareness for a variety of human rights issues. Their campaigning against domestic violence has been one of their high profile cases and I think it is excellent that a high street shop uses its influence to try to make a difference in this way.

CONTROVERSY: Although the Body Shop has a brand image as a highly ethical company, it has come under attack from some journalists who see its sale to L'Oreal as 'selling out'. Anita Roddick has also been accused of stealing the whole idea of the Body Shop - down to identical product lists - from an American store Roddick visited before founding her company.

SHOPPING EXPERIENCE: I have always found it very pleasant to shop at the Body Shop. The stores are always clean and free of clutter. Despite there being many different fragrances from the products in the shop, none of these are overpowering or 'chemicaly' so it doesn't make me sneeze like going into Lush does! I have always found the staff to be polite, helpful and knowledgeable about their products. There is a loyalty card scheme so with each purchase you get a stamp and after 10 you get a £5 off your next purchase. You also get a £5 gift during your birthday month which is a really nice touch. The lighting within the store is soft but still bright enough to see the products. I really can't think of a bad thing to stay about the in-store shopping experience and as I have never bought anything from their website, I cannot comment on this service.

MY ONLY CRITICISM: The only bad thing I have to say about The Body Shop is that I feel their products are overpriced compared to similar products from other companies. I understand that fairly traded ethical goods may cost more to produce but I do not think it should cost quite so much. As it stands, I generally buy Body Shop products as a treat and try to make them last as long as I can but I'd love to be able to afford to shop there all the time.

Summary: A really fantastic variety of excellent products but it's a shame that they cost so much