If it hadn't been for the release of Heavenly Bodies a few months back, I probably wouldn't have been as excited as I was for the release of this. Ever since I experienced the wonders of smearing myself in what smells and looks like cake batter, and feeling how amazingly soft my skin was afterwards, I've never wanted to share a shower with a product more than this one.
Unfortunately for Heavenly Bodies, Almond Buttercream has surpassed my expectations and cemented itself as my favourite buttercream to date. It's the perfect product to become acquainted with during those difficult morning showers - it's gentle on the skin and leaves you wanting to scoop out handfuls and spoon them into your mouth.
For those unfamiliar with what a buttercream is, it's a combination of soap and shower gel; a softer-style soap that can be used like a shower gel, but contains key ingredients to help soften and repair dry skin. It doesn’t contain as many surfactants as traditional soap, so it won’t lather up like you’re used to, but this does mean it’s especially good for those people who find normal soap can sometimes dry their skin out.
This particular butter cream is jam-packed with essential oils and butters to give you a nourishing and highly moisturising experience. The inclusion of rapeseed and coconut condition the skin - helping to keep moisture from escaping from the skin, which aids in retaining softness and suppleness. The moisturizing properties of almond butter is great for people with delicate or sensitive skin, making it a good choice for dry skin on your face or to relieve itching and soreness from rashes and other skin irritations. The ground almond shells means that this product doesn't waste any of the nut and gives the buttercream a very subtle grittiness, which turns this product into a gentle exfoliator.
As if Almond Buttercream wasn't luxurious enough, Lush have also included sweet orange, sicilian mandarin, lime and cinnamon leaf oil. Aside from their moisturising and toning properties, these ingredients give this product a beautiful, uplifting and rather sexy aroma.
To me, this buttercream smells rather similar to the aforementioned Heavenly Bodies, but whereas that one is dominated by the lime oil, this one is much lighter, more buttery and slightly less potent with the citrus fragrance. It has a gentle smell of chocolate orange, a subtle nuttiness intertwined with a rich, fudgey-vanilla aroma that's simply irresistible. As I said in my other review, it really needs to be sampled to understand how beautiful the product is - don't blame me if you find yourself poised with a spoon over a tub of the stuff - it really is that good!
To me, this buttercream smells rather similar to the aforementioned Heavenly Bodies, but whereas that one is dominated by the lime oil, this one is much lighter, more buttery and slightly less potent with the citrus fragrance. It has a gentle smell of chocolate orange, a subtle nuttiness intertwined with a rich, fudgey-vanilla aroma that's simply irresistible. As I said in my other review, it really needs to be sampled to understand how beautiful the product is - don't blame me if you find yourself poised with a spoon over a tub of the stuff - it really is that good!
Aside from it's scent, Almond Buttercream softens, cleans and replenishes tired and dried-out skin. It's easy to massage over the skin but don't expect it to lather up like a shower gel - it's more like a body butter in this sense. It washes off easily under running water and leaves a beautiful fruity fragrance on your skin.
It's easy to scoop out of the tub and a small amount goes a long way. Just be careful not to use too much at any one time as it's very easy to get carried away with a product as gorgeous as this. A 250g tub will last you a good 10-20 full body washes, depending on how generous you are with your portions. While it works out more expensive than a shower gel or soap, it's worth the extra price to feel as gorgeously pampered as you do with this buttercream.
This has very quickly established itself as one of my favourite all-time Lush products and I hope they choose to bring this back soon so I can buy a few more tubs. I would definitely recommend that you give this at least one try, and I dare to you to find fault in this incredible product!
Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Glycerine, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Almond Butter, Sesame Seeds, Perfume, Dried Orange Slices, Aloe Vera Extract, Ground Almond Shells, Fair Trade Organic Aloe Vera Gel, Sweet Orange Oil, Sicilian Mandarin Oil, Lime Oil, Cinnamon Leaf Oil, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Limonene, Eugenol.
Vegan?: Yes.
2016 Price: £10.75 for 240g.
Scent Family:
Ugh. Wish I had picked one up! Sounds amazing, but isn't the shelf life short on this one? Do you have to keep it refrigerated?
ReplyDeleteLush don't specifically tell you to keep this in the fridge, and like all of their buttercreams, I find they did better being kept somewhere cool but not too cold. This has quite a long life - the best before date is exactly a year from now. I highly recommend that you pick one up if they become available :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!! Love your blog!
ReplyDeleteThank you - I'm glad I could help :)
Deletecan you tell me what is the difference between smoothie and buttercream??
ReplyDeleteOf course! Smoothies are rather like a soft and creamy soap - a product that sits inbetween a solid soap and a body lotion. The ingredients have been whipped to give it a light and slightly fluffy consistency and it's main aim is to clean.
DeleteButter Creams on the other hand, are more like a thick dessert - they tend to be the consistency of a thick ice cream and are made from a blend of soap (about 10%) and oils/butters. They're designed to be more softening and moisturising on the skin.
I hope this helps :)
thanks, Jen! I placed the order today. I hope I'll like almond buttercream as much as you do :)
ReplyDeleteI like the butters but found that I lost a lot down the plug hole with scrunchies. After trying several ways to apply it, I prefer to use a ramer sponge. It all melts into the sponge and lathers quite well. I am currently using some skinny dip up which is over a year out of date but smells as I remember it used to.
ReplyDeleteThis is currently on the Lush Japan Kitchen; in case you were running low
ReplyDeleteWhat is the price of this product? Does it come in multiple sizes?
ReplyDeleteI think this was priced up at about £11 if I remember rightly. I believe it used to come in smaller sizes when it was released many years ago but its only available in 250g pots through the kitchen.
DeleteWhat I found out, after reading your blog, is that this actually is more intended to be a soap than a lotion. As english is not my mothers tongue, without any instructions leading how to use a Buttercream properly I started this to use naturally as a body lotion. A pot lasted me for about 6 months. It really improved my dry and sensitive skin. Equally, all of the buttercreams do. I still use them as a "fast to go" body lotion replacement. However, with this particular product here, I had quite a "situation". As I didn't used it for 2 weeks, since I've been on vacations to Japan, I found mold in pot. I scooped out a generous amount and then used it as I usually do.
ReplyDeleteOh dear - that is a problem with the buttercreams! Because they're so fresh and almost look and taste like food, they do tend to go off if not used after a certain amount of time. I'm glad to hear that this worked as a lotion for you - was it not sticky? I can imagine it clinging to my skin or something and leaving a mess!
ReplyDeleteHi Jen, actually, it does not feel sticky at all. Well, I am probably not so sensitive when it comes to these things. I tend to use the body conditioners also as a body lotion. During summer. But I use only "finger tip" amounts and spread them onto my wet skin, massage them in and within roughly 3 minutes my skin absorbs the butter cream/ conditioner. This is how I tamed my bad case of acne prone shoulders. The butter creams worked wonders for me this way. As for almond, I get rid of the sesame seeds by simply massage them off of my body.
ReplyDelete