little white truths

As you may know, I've been trying a bunch of Ethique products lately because I want to buy less stuff that comes in plastic, and this brand is available at my local Priceline so I've been cycling through its products.

While I generally like Ethique bars, unfortunately this one doesn't hit the mark for me so I can't recommend it and I wouldn't buy it again. In my view, Ethique's cleansers and scrubs tend to be better, and I'm not sure I would try one of these moisturisers again. More on that below.

Ethique claims/product details:

• Our butter blocks have just been reformulated and are now more hydrating with no greasiness, and they last longer
• Instead of just butters and oils, our clever chemists have mixed two humectants (ingredients that draw water to the skin) into a deliciously creamy base
• All our butter blocks are made with essential oils and butters, no synthetic fragrances
• We use organic cocoa butter from a farming cooperative in the Dominican Republic, organic coconut oil from our cooperative in Samoa and delicious essential oils to create a bar that is easy to use, supremely hydrating and fabulous for heels, elbows or anywhere else needing a little extra TLC
• Best used straight after a shower on damp skin; equivalent to almost 500ml of liquid lotion
• This product may soften in transit over the summer months; if so, please pop in the fridge for 2-3 hours upon arrival for it to harden up
• RRP $24.95 AUD for 100g, but do wait for specials

Verdict

I so wanted to love this product because I want a brand like Ethique to do well (I'm all for anyone who doesn't use plastic packaging), but this block isn't great and I can't give it a good review.

It's a body lotion in soap form and it indeed smells like lime and coconut. Mind you, the coconut smell overtakes the lime and it has that sickly sweet piña colada vibe that I hate, so I wouldn't buy this fragrance again for that reason alone.

You apply this after the shower while your skin is still wet (if it isn't, you'll have trouble getting the product to melt and spread). First off, I want to say that this is a hassle to use. It's one thing to wash or scrub with a bar in the shower, but quite another to run one over the body afterwards - it takes a while and I also have to work at this product to get it to spread and absorb (which, to be honest, it doesn't do well). The whole process takes too long and it's annoying.

The other thing that's annoying is that I'm burning through this, and I've seen a lot of people say the same thing. The claims say this is equivalent to almost 500ml of lotion, but in my experience, that's just not true. I need a good amount of this for my skin to feel as though I've actually put anything on it (otherwise it feels too dry), and this thing is disintegrating before my very eyes so it's not good value and it costs more than I would typically spend on a body cream anyway.

In terms of effect, I don't like it at all. It leaves my skin feeling waxy and coated, and it's a feeling I don't like. It's also not hydrating enough for my dry skin, and I'm aware of the tightness in my skin underneath the waxy coating. Indeed, I reckon this product sits on top of my skin, rather than sinking in and delivering nourishment - so it just doesn't suit me.

Another problem with this particular bar is that it crumbles easily, and I'm not the first person to have mentioned this. Apparently other bars in the range don't do that, so I would opt for a different one if you want to try something from this range. It's annoying enough to run a temperamental bar over my skin after the shower; and it's extra annoying that I'm now dealing with little pieces of it.

Overall I don't like this product and I can't recommend it. It's expensive and it vanishes quickly, it doesn't hydrate, it's annoying to use and I don't like the scent.

Not for me.