Charity Pot Naked Body Lotion

It was only a matter of time before one of Lush's most biggest sellers was given a naked make over, and rightly so. With 100% of the profit made from the sales of Charity Pot Body Lotion, minus the tax, being used to support national and international charities across the UK, the naked version is just an extension of the goodwill behind the company's longest standing cause.

Although there is a small part of me slightly irked by Lush's decision to change the original fragrance of this a few years back, there are always moments across the year when I grab a small tub when paying at the tills, and enjoy the indulgence knowing that I have knowingly directed my money towards an important cause.

What I will state however, is that the smell that you'll experience when opting to choose the naked version over the liquid, is not as robust or as beautiful as the original lotion. And while I can certainly detect many similarities that put them into the same scent family, there are differences that may ultimately separate opinions in the end.

Lush describe Charity Pot as having a vanilla-based aroma with floral properties alongside this. However, I would argue that it is the floral elements that make the biggest impression: offering a scent that is sweet yet slightly sophisticated; grounded yet at the same time a little playful. There is something rather rich about the gentle geranium notes that my nose detects, and I think it is the vanilla absolute that rounds these notes off with a sweet finish. However, the inclusion of the rosewood also adds a delicate woodiness that complements the other components beautifully.

Compared to the liquid lotion, Charity Pot Naked Body Lotion definitely offers a scent a little more on the reserved side. You really have to massage the fragrance out of the oils, so it won't necessarily inspire you to reach for it initially in the shops: it'll take a little time for you to fully appreciate what it has to offer. At the same time, I found that the vanilla element was lost a little in this format as well, which is why I wasn't as impressed with the smell when I had a pot of the original to compare it to. 

Fans of the body lotion will definitely appreciate the key components that go into making the liquid lotion smell light and beautiful. However, the fragrance of the naked version is a little less sweet and creamy, and you'll find that after a couple of weeks, the intensity of the solid slab (which isn't super strong to begin with) will weaken a little. 

On the positive side, this little pot saw me through some of the toughest days my skin has ever had to face: showering myself for three weeks with only ice-cold rain water, in the dirty, dusty streets of Africa. When faced with this challenge, this naked body lotion helped to plump out my skin and rejuvenate the missing moisture that the daily barrage of heat took out of my body.

Furthermore, while it wasn't the most generous naked lotion when it came to pampering my skin, I did notice that my body didn't develop any dry areas during my time of use, and I was able to moisture every two of three days without feeling the need to top off in between. 

What I will say about Charity Pot Naked Body Lotion, which also happens with many of Lush's massage bars, is that this solid pot of oils will leave stubborn smears of butter across your skin, if your hands or body are not warm enough. There were a few evenings after my icy shower when I found that I had to massage my legs and arms quite ferociously, as the body lotion didn't melt as effectively as it did when I was warmer.

For this reason, I found that the most effective way to use this was to massage it between the palms of your hands until the product produced enough oils to spread over the areas I wanted to moisturise. Although some of those oils will get absorbed into your hands, so you'll need a little extra each time, this allows the butters and oils to be spread evenly. When carried out this way, the body absorbed far quicker into the skin and I was able to reapply my clothes within a matter of minutes afterwards. 

While I didn't find that the fragrance of this body lotion lasted much longer than thirty minutes on my skin, the effects of the ingredients outweighed this negative point. Furthermore, a single tub saw myself and my partner using it twice daily, for well over a month, before it had been completely used up. This lasted far longer than a 200g tub would, and worked out to be a little cheaper as well.     

Quantitative Ingredients: Fair Trade Colombian Cocoa Butter, Fresh Aloe Gel, Fair Trade Shea Butter, Japan Wax, Organic Jojoba Oil, Fair Trade Olive Oil, Carnauba Wax, Moringa Oil, Perfume,Geranium Oil, Rosewood Oil, Ylang Ylang Oil, Vanilla Absolute, Gardenia Extract, *Anise Alcohol, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Benzyl Salicylate, *Citral, *Citronellol, *Coumarin, *Farnesol, Geraniol, *Isoeugenol, *Limonene, *Linalool.

Vegan?: Yes.

2018 Price: £9.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2018.