If you’re looking for a solid exfoliating body bar that’s all about puppies, rainbows and heart-shaped bubbles coming out of a pink unicorn’s butt, you won’t find it in Lush’s Buffy Body Butter ($11.95).
Buffy will not listen to you talk about your feelings as you braid each other’s hair.
Nor will she quietly discuss the merits of gentle exfoliation with you over chamomile tea in a room filled with oversized pillows and dream catchers.
Lush refers to this Buffy as “the original slayer” and says it’s “tough on rough bottoms” because it wants to kick metaphorical butt.
Your skin’s butt.
Dead skin cells? Destroys ’em. The solid 3.3-ounce Buffy Body Butter bar (what a tongue-twister!) vanquishes scaly skin with a semi-coarse concoction of ground rice, almonds and beans (?). And if 3.3 ounces doesn’t seem big enough, it also comes in a larger 7-ounce bar for $22.95.
Scaly shins? Toast. Lumps, bumps and scaly patches on pretty much any part of your bod — shins, thighs, elbows, heels, arms — succumb to Buffy’s skin-sloughing powers and the moisturizing might of cocoa and shea butters.
That other Buffy in the vampire-slaying business has to struggle to keep humanity safe from blood-suckers, but for the Buffy Body Butter bar, keeping skin exfoliated and moisturized is a piece of cake.
Just massage it over wet skin, and squeal with delight! — or mild discomfort, but more on that in a minute. It’s kinda like a rich, super scrubby soap.
Then, after rinsing, pat dry. No need for lotion or cream afterward, since Buffy leaves behind a thick layer of moisturizing butters and oils.
I used it in the shower yesterday and couldn’t figure out if I wanted to cry in ecstasy or distress. For me, it sort of walks that line between agony and intense satisfaction, like a bikini wax, or reaching that point in a half marathon when you see the 10-mile sign and realize YOU STILL HAVE THREE MILES TO GO!
Fair Trade Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii), Ground Rice (Oryza sativa), Ground Almonds (Prunus dulcis), Ground Aduki Beans (Phaseolus), Perfume, Lavender Oil (Lavandula hybrida), Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum), Citral, Limonene, Linalool
I sure do love what Buffy does for my skin. The buttery oils leave it happily hydrated, if not a touch oily, and lightly scented with cocoa butter.
Oh, and it has another convenient use that I file away in the category of “Weird but kinda cool.” It can also work as an impromptu shave cream!
For kicks, in the shower yesterday after using the bar, I ran my razor along my shins, and the thick film really helped the razor glide along, just like a good shave cream. I guess that makes Buffy, in a way, like getting three products in one — an exfoliating bar, a shave cream and a moisturizer.
Might come in handy if you’re planning a trip over the summer and want to pack light.
PRICE: $11.95 for a 3.3-ounce bar; $22.95 for a 7-ounce bar
AVAILABILITY: Available at Lush stores and lushusa.com
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+
NARS Beach Lover
Hmm… It looks like I’m going to have to visit Sephora this afternoon. NARS has a couple of new summer Sephora Exclusive gift sets, and the promo pic is speaking to my inner surf baby.
“Surf’s up, Karen!”
Okay! Be right there! 🙂
There’s the $49 Beach Lover Set, which includes a Medium Laguna Illuminator (a brown with golden shimmer), a Mini Orgasm Blush/Hungry Heart Highlighter Duo (a golden ivory and a peachy pink with golden shimmer), a Skorpios Mini Soft Touch Shadow Pencil (a copper) and a Medium Laguna Lip Gloss (a bronzed brown with golden shimmer).
The three-piece Sun Kissed Set also looks pretty cute. For $50, you get a Medium Pro-Prime Pore Refining Primer, a Medium Laguna Illuminator (a bronzed brown with golden shimmer) and a Mini Desire Blush/Hungry Heart Highlighter Duo (a golden ivory and a delicate bright pink).
Fingers crossed that Tabs lets me sneak away from my desk before Sephora closes! 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,