Laline Massage Bars

Madonna might be hooked on Laline products from Israel, but apparently she must be getting them either in London or in Israel and can no longer buy them when she's in the US, because the Santa Ana store seems to have closed in recent months. The line is available in the UK (also online) and in Norway, so looks like European customers can still get their fix of sweet smelling creams and lotions.

I had the opportunity to try Laline massage bars, that also multitask as rich body butter. Unlike many other Laline body products, the bars don't contain mineral oil and do more than just coat the skin. The ingredients are sweet almond oil, beeswax, shea butter, coconut oil and fragrance. It's all good and very nourishing, even for extra dry limbs.

You break a small piece from the bar and let it melt in your hands before slathering it on the skin. The rich butter feels nice, but takes a lot of time to absorb and leaves a thin coat behind: great for protection against harsh weather, but a bit too sticky at first, so it's not a "slather, get dressed and go" product. It's much better for use after a relaxing bath before bed, when you don't worry about getting your clothes greasy.

The fragrances used here are very strong, so you need to be careful if you plan to wear a perfume. My favorite of the bunch is the addictive Vanilla Cocoa. It's a guilty pleasure kind of scent, as foody as they come. It's sweet, far from sophisticated and would make you crave chocolate, but some nights it's not a bad thing at all.

Slathering Season

A couple of months late, but winter has finally arrived to the NY Metro area, which means slathering myself, head-to-toe with the richest, creamiest, butteriest goop I can find. Not long ago, my sister introduced me to Laline, a body care line originally from Israel that is now opening stores in Europe: Several stores already in England, one coming soon in Oslo. In America they have only one location at the moment, in Santa Ana, California.

I tested two products so far. Their Body Souffle (in Vanilla) and the Butter Cream in Nut. Despite its name, the souffle has a texture that is more like whipped butter than an airy mousse. It's smooth and goes on pleasantly. The vanilla scent, despite its claim of including patchouli, is very foody. It's quite strong, which needs to be taken into account before applying perfume, though it disappears within an hour or so.

I did have issues with its moisturizing qualities. As I said, it feels nice when put on, but the long term effect and the level of real skin nourishing is less than I expected. A look at the ingredient list (on the product itself, there's no info on the web site) reveals that among good stuff like rosewood oil and aloe vera gel it also contains mineral oil, sodium lauryl sulfate, methylparaben and Dead Sea salt. My guess is that the SLS is for texture, but I'm not sure I'm happy about it staying on my skin. Same goes for salt, Dead Sea or not.


As a reader of the BeautyBrains I know that mineral oil doesn't harm the skin at all, and it actually creates a very good barrier that prevents moisture loss. However, and this is something I've experienced with every product that contains mineral oil, from baby oil and Nivea up, is that in the dead of winter, when the skin of my legs is threatening to just die and leave me flayed, mineral oil based products just don't cut it. I need tons of moisture and mineral oil simply doesn't provide me with it, while shea butter based creams do work wonderfully.

Not surprisngly, The butter cream was more satisfying. It does contain mineral oil, but also shea butter that makes my skin happy. This goes on thicker, like most body butters, and requires more effort in working it into the skin. The hazelnut scent is divine, even for someone who usually doesn't go for foody smells. It's rich and nutty as expected, but not too sweet. Very comforting without going to the cloying side. The scent isn't as strong as the vanilla and doesn't last as long on my skin. The cream works as well as can be expected from a shea butter product and doesn't require re-applying for at least 12 hours.

Online buying at the moment is only in the UK.  The Santa Ana store is in Main place mall, their number 714-547-1014.
For the upcoming Oslo store, the details are: Karenslyst Allé 9, 0287 Oslo
Tel:+47 22 54 66 06 / +47 411 41 039
helen@lalinenorge.no