Although it may not seem like it, Winter is just around the corner which means that I begin my yearly hunt for something to help my skin survive the dry, cold months. You may be snickering right now if you know that I live in Southern California–the land of eternal summer. However, my skin is very sensitive and Winter is the absolute worst time for me because my skin gets dry, flaky and painful. When I start looking for moisturizers, I am looking for something that is gentle yet moisturizing. I absolutely hate products that make my skin feel greasy or that are super heavily scented, so that eliminates a lot of products. Recently, I got the opportunity to try two new moisturizing products: Apotheke: M and Scent Bar.
Both of these brands are completely new to me so I was really looking forward to using them. First up, is Apotheke: M. Target currently carries this brand which is comprised of bath/shower gels, nourishing body cleansers, after bath tonics, smoothing body polishes and enriched body cremes. I used their enriched body cremes:
Their product line comes in 3 scents: Coconut Jasmine, Mandarin Guava and Blackcurrant Fig. I was a little wary of the two scents I received because I am extremely sensitive when it comes to bath & body product scents. Mandarin Guava was the one I was most concerned about because, while I looooove to eat guavas, their scent is incredibly overwhelming. Have you ever had a ripe guava in your home and suddenly EVERYTHING smells like guava? Fortunately, the main scent I picked up was the mandarin. It has a sweet citrus scent that isn’t overbearing. The coconut jasmine scent has a stronger sweet coconut scent and I can’t really pick out the jasmine. Both of these body cremes are very thick and silky. I used them mostly on areas that need extra moisture like my elbows and knees. I also used them on my hands after swatching nail polish because that’s when my hands are at their worst after using acetone products. The cremes took a bit to soak into my skin so I found that applying them right after showering helped the products seep into my skin. After a week, I did notice softer, more moisturized skin!
Next up is Scent Bar’s Shea-Intense Body Butter. Scent Bar’s product line at Target is fairly new and have 4 fragrances: Cabana, Forbidden, Blush and Sunswept.
Cabana has notes of coconut, Tahitian vanilla and papaya so it is quite a summery and beachy scent. This body butter was also very thick and creamy; I also used it to smooth out and moisturize the skin on my knees, elbows and feet. I actually found that I loved this product on my feet. I slathered some on, put on some socks and went to bed. When I woke up, my feet were soooooo soft.
Overall, I quite enjoyed these products. They are obviously thicker than lotions which some people may not like, but I really liked how well they moisturized my skin. My only negative is that, although the scents are nice, they were a little too much for me. I must say that I am not the average scent/perfume wearer as most scents will make me ill if they are too sweet. I asked a few people what they thought of the fragrance in these products and most said that they were not overbearing or too strong. Apotheke: M products can be purchased at Target in store and online here. Their body cremes retail for $8.99 for an 8 oz tube. Scent Bar products can also be purchased at Target in store and online. Their shea-intense body butters can be purchased for $8.99 for 6.5 oz.
Have your spotted any of these products at your local Target? What are some of your go-to winter products? What are some of your favorite bath & body product scents? Thanks for catching up with me, and I’ll talk to you soon!
**These products were provided for review purposes. All opinions are my own.**
I’m not sensitive to scents or perfumes, but I’m not a fan of strong scented lotions. I always hated when I would get perfume sets as a gift rather than just a perfume because they always came with a super strong perfume scented lotion and/or body wash that I never use. Anways! I moistures my hands mostly and my feet when I do pedicures but I really need to pay more attention to my rough spots like my elbow and heels. Especially when I’m in the North East where it actually gets cold and *gasp* snows. 😛 Yes I am mocking your sunny so-cal self 😛
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Seriously! The weather here is so mild. I was on the east coast during winter ONE TIME, and I was complaining the whole time–and it was only for a few days.haha! My skin gets crazy dry as it is, so I can’t even imagine what would happen if I actually had to deal with really cold weather. You know what’s weird? My shoulders and upper back usually get the worst of it–my skin will get so dry and itchy there that it will crack unless I moisturize like crazy…it’s the weirdest thing. For my hands, I’ve been using L’Occitane en Provence hand lotions for years, and I recently found this Barielle hand moisturizer that is amazing. It comes with those little gloves that you can wear overnight, and I swear that it has made a huge difference. I just have to be consistent!
Now you just need to find a giant moisturizing wrap to cocoon your back in and you’ll be set!
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Ugh! That is the truth. I’ve had to slather myself in lotion the last few days because of this horrible dry weather!
I recently made my own lotions, a recipe that I followed from Pinterest. You only need a small amount to hydrate & moisturizer your skin. It’s comprised of Vitamin E cream, Vaseline & baby lotion. I’ve shared it around the work office & it’s loved by all. At work we use a lot of the hand sanitizer, which erodes your skin after time, therefore I need a very hydrating lotion, and my recipe rocks!
That sounds pretty freaking cool. Could you share your recipe with me? I’d be interested in trying it out.
I’ve read good things about both of these brands. I think I personally would prefer the shea butter, but I just like body butters in general.
I always gravitate toward the vanilla scents for body washes & lotions. I don’t usually like fruity. I also hate coconut.
I like to wear a little bit of perfume, and I don’t mind the scents in body wash and lotion, as long as they don’t linger. I HATE scented deodorant (it just makes me sick to smell it, GAG!) and I hate when you use hairspray and you smell like that instead of your perfume!
My skin is thankfully not too dry, but I’m also pretty good about moisturizing. I always use a firming cream after showering (right now I use the Salma Hayek one) and, time permitting, sometimes follow up with a second lotion, which varies.
My brother has pretty sensitive skin and we saw a Gold Bond commercial the other day and he told me that lotion works really well. He said they have it at work and it’s really thick, but it sinks in fast and it works. I said I’ll keep it in mind.
If you get the recipe above, let me know!
I have the most dumbass skin ever. I seriously get rashes from EVERYTHING or I break out. I used this new bodywash and I have a disgusting rash on my upper back now. Why just there?!?!?! Ugh! I bought some Cetaphil since that usually calms my skin down after a while. OMG…about the hairspray. Ok, since I have a pixie cut now and my hair is naturally curly/wavy and tends to frizz and poof out a lot, I have to do some mcguyver hair maneuvers to get it to act normal. Actually, the only thing I do is apply some Ojon leave in treatment and I comb it down and let it air dry. My hair will then be soft and manageable and somewhat straight but with a little wave (like pincurls!). If I want it to stay that way, I must use hairspray. (I’m getting flashbacks of my 90’s bangs and cans of Aqua Net.) I tried Elnett since it’s supposed to be “the best” and I do like it, but it makes my head smell like an old lady. Does that even make sense? Then I tried the Herbal Essences hairspray that is super flowery. One day I was at the post office and this guy kept sniffing my head…WTF? Then he asked me what perfume I was wearing and it was just the hairspray. Definitely too strong. I have tried a lot of Gold Bond lotions and the smell makes me gag. 🙁
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McGuyver hair maneuvers, hahaha!
OMG, did I ever have some 90s hair! I was a Jersey transplant…enough said. I had like a pouf and then these like wings on the sides…so bad. I do still have a tendency toward enjoying big hair now and again…I’d choose to curl it before I straighten it !
I really haven’t found a hairspray that is scentless enough for me. I’m also kinda picky in that I only like the “flexible” or “brushable” hold types, like the weakest ones. I agree with you about Elnett, though. All the magazines, etc., talk about how it’s the shit and I’m like, meh. And the smell is just too much.
Woah…Jersey transplant…the wings!!! LMAO I so had the wings but the bangs were my crowning glory. I think at school we all wanted to have the biggest bangs (I went to a ghetto jr. high and moved away for HS) so we lived with our cans of hairspray. Do they even still sell aqua net? I think there is one hairspray that I kinda liked which was from bumble and bumble but it’s a little pricey and hairspray is not a huge necessity so I passed. Doesn’t elnett kind of smell like old lady mixed with bug spray?
I didn’t have bangs at the time, but I am so amused by the fact that you were aiming for the sky! I’ll have to find a pic like I said on Twitter last night.
I think they still sell Aqua Net.
Yeah, I don’t actually use hairspray that much because I am generally lazy and generally just air dry my hair, but should I choose to do something to it, that’s when I need it. If I bothered to spend time on it, it’d better well last!
LOL! I think you hit the nail on the head with Elnett. I gave my hairdresser a small can of it to try out and he said he liked the spray well enough, but couldn’t stand the smell. I should ask him about lighter-scented hairspray recommendations because he hates strong-smelling products, too.
Strangely, for $8.99 at Target’s, I can find no “full” ingredients list for the “enriched body creme.” All accolades aside – exactly what’s in this stuff selling for $8.99?
P.S. Especially, since there is no indication that the ingredients are organic.