Skin and Beauty

Cheap Lotion, Like Really Cheap, Like Super Cheap

I had run out of my recent favourite lotion, the Garnier Body – Beauty Oil-Infused Nourishing Lotion and was on the hunt to find it again. But do you know that really irritating scenario where you go to the shelf and the label is there but the product isn’t? I didn’t have a long lunch break and couldn’t really be running around and then I saw this big white tub. Xpel Body Care? Never heard of it. Olive Oil Cream? Olive Oil is good for your hair and skin. 500ml for £1? I couldn’t help myself. And if I can give cheap conditioner a go, who am I to say no?

Now in a lot of instances you get what you pay for but I live life hoping that I can find a bargain that will save my pocket and actually work. There’s not a lot of money floating around in my life for non-essentials (still a product junkie though) so I will always try to find the best deal for whatever I get. I was worried that this was possibly a step too far though. I have dry skin and it’s been an issue for years so I need my lotions to work. There were intentions of adding things to this lotion to make it better if it didn’t so it wouldn’t be a complete loss, I did not have to resort to this.

There are lotions that help my dry skin issues and there are some that are so thin I’m not even sure why the manufacturers bother pretending their pale coloured water is a lotion. This Olive Oil Cream on the other hand is thick. Like ridiculously thick. You know when you’re whipping cream and they say you’re done if you can turn the bowl over and it doesn’t fall out…It’s that thick.

It’s also very hard to rub in. Probably due to the unnecessary thickness. And I’m someone who likes a thick, creamy, luxurious lotion. This is not quite that. Normally when you rub a lotion in it feels smooth, you can feel the moisture on your skin. As you rub this in it feels sort of dry. I’m not sure I can describe the feeling well but I don’t like it. You can feel friction, it’s not rough but it’s not massage worthy by any stretch.

On the plus side, it lasted 6-7 weeks. That’s pretty amazing for £1 and full body moisturising every day for that whole time. Neck to toe, that’s a lot of lotion. It claims to “soothe dry and sensitive skin to help it feeling perfectly hydrated and irresistibly soft.” I think that description overstates it’s abilities. However you are not left with dry skin.

xbc lotion woeful to frofullThe funny thing is, it’s called an Olive Oil Cream but all you can smell is talcum powder which made me think, what’s in this? I’m still taking the Chemistry lessons that are required to be a good naturalista (haha). I’m no expert but there are some ingredients there that I know now to not put on my hair – parafinnum liquidum (mineral oil), sodium lauryl sulphate and petrolatum. And a quick bit of research shows that they are not ideal for skin either – potential irritants, carcinogens and pollutants (however, there is evidence that both validate and dispute these claims).

I also try to stay away from products that have parfum quite high up the ingredients list which in this case it is not, it’s 15 out of 17. It is quite a difficult one to avoid altogether. But what smell they put in there I don’t know because honestly, talcum powder fragranced lotion was a bad call. Worse still, Olive Oil, the component this is named for, is 13 out of 17 on the ingredient list.

Conclusion

BUT my skin is not dry. I don’t have any itchy, scaly, ashy patches. It works as a lotion should do but some of the ingredients are questionable. I can’t say it’s the most pleasurable experience using it. It’s a bit of a head scratcher because it does work and is beyond budget friendly. Ultimately, I will probably not buy it again. However, I do have a tub of the Cocoa Butter version that I bought at the same time to get through now! I thought I made it clear I like a bargain!

Let’s keep growing together!

xx Lee xx

Comments welcome below. How cheap would you go?

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