Lancôme Nutrix Royal Body Cream

It's the time of the year the skin on my body and I become estranged and try to crawl out of each other. It ain't pretty. I fight the good fight. I take my vitamins, slather, grease, beg and plead, and for the most part manage to avoid turning into a creepy crawler, but it takes work and products, and come January and February I turn to the big guns. I've already tried some of the most amazing products on the market, those priced in the three digit range and they really work (they'd better). I was considering buying a jar or two when I decided to give Lancome a chance and ordered their Nutrix Royal Body Cream. I can't help it- I hear something contains royal jelly and I must try it. Not sure where this fixation came from.

My one and only issue with Lancome body products has always been the scent. They smell synthetic and fruity, and Nutrix Royal Body Cream isn't different in that regard, though by the time I get dressed it's mostly gone. The important part, though, is performance. Nutrix Royal delivers like a cream that costs three times as much and continuous use has lingering effect. I haven't touched any other body cream in more than three weeks and haven't seen that ugly dry earth pattern on my legs since then.

Bottom line: I don't know if its the royal jelly, but this cream is made of awesome.

Lancôme Nutrix Royal Body Cream ($34) is available from Lancome counters everywhere and the company's website. I ordered it online.

Photo: images.com

Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream

The 1 oz tube of Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream was a Sephora Beauty Insider GWP, and I must say I'm glad I didn't pay for it. I used to have several favorite products from Fresh and I still remember the wonderful scent of the Bulgarian Rose line. But that was before the company was sold to LVMH and lost its soul.

Kristen, The Beauty Addict, has already touched on the silliness of naming a product Brown Sugar while making it smell of lemon. The very synthetic citrus has nothing of the dark molasses-like aroma you'd expect from the name, and there's nothing rich or comforting in the cream's texture or performance. Maybe someone whose skin is dry and doesn't require deep nourishment from body creams would find it acceptable, but I don't. I kept testing the Brown Sugar cream under several circumstances (day, night, exposed skin, covered skin, cold day and balmy weather), but the result was always the same: within an hour of application I had to reach for another cream or lotion, because my skin was showing signs of dryness.

Bottom line: No.

Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream ($35, 6.8 oz) is available from Sephora and Fresh boutiques. As I said above, the 1oz tube I have was a GWP.

Image: ehow.com

Kanebo Sensai Collection Premier the Body Cream

This is one of the very few occasions in my life I'm quite happy to be short and not have neverending limbs. It makes my sample of body cream from Kanebo Sensai Collection Premier last just a bit longer.

This cream is beyond fabulous (and for $400 per 8.5 oz it better be). I've slathered my share of creams, lotions, butters and oils. Some were better than others, but I think it's the first time I could see the product's effect lasting on the skin for 24 hours. What I mean is that while this is definitely not the first super hydrating cream I've tried and loved, by the next day (and usually sooner) my skin is already demanding more. With Kanebo Sensai Premier, the newly found softness is still noticeably there. Considering my cuir de crocodile, this is quite impressive.

I haven't been using the cream long enough (it is a sample, after all) to comment on any long term anti-aging effect. The marketing materials talk about 20 active ingredients and name things such as Bukuryo extract, Chinese mulberry, seaweed extract and others. All I can say is that it feels great and makes my arms and legs look normal. The delicate white flower (quite a bit of orange blossom) scent is lovely and luxurious, as it ought to be.

My friend Tom mentioned a couple of weeks ago that at a certain price level he'd rather have stuff prescribed and not bought at Bergdorf, and I know exactly what he means. If my skin requires such heavy duty treatments (and it does. I've been prune prone since early childhood, even when I lived in a hot and humid climate), isn't it better to have my health insurance fork over?

Probably so, but it wouldn't feel as fabulous as the Kanebo Sensai Premier.

Bottom line: I'm doomed.

Kanebo Sensai Collection Premier the Body Cream ($400, 8.5 oz. Cringe) is available from Bergdorf Goodman, online and in store. The sample I received was a PR freebie.

Image: sensai-cosmetics.com

Erno Laszlo Hydra-Therapy Bodyskin Cream

My poor limbs! This summer has been short and plagued with crazy weather, which means I didn't get the short reprieve from slathering my legs with heavy-duty body creams and oils. The press sample of Erno Laszlo Hydra-Therapy Bodyskin Cream I received was a welcome addition to my goop rotation. My skin on my legs and arms is very dry and extremely sensitive. When I call it Cuir de Crocodile I'm not being funny. I'm being truthful (and desperate).

Hydra-Therapy Bodyskin Cream performs well so far. It's as fast absorbing as it can get and leaves no filmy residue that could make crossing one's legs a sticky situation. The cream feels great and leaves the skin soft and supple for 6-8 hours. I also like the way it feels on my hand after application.

What I don't get is a long-term effect, which makes me suspect Hydra-Therapy Bodyskin Cream might not become my winter staple. But for now it is a very good product and normal people who are not related to lizards would probably find it very effective year-round.

Erno Laszlo Hydra-Therapy Bodyskin Cream ($60 for 8 oz) is available from Nordstro, Neiman Marcus, Dillard's and ernolaszlo.com. My sample was a PR freebie.

Lush Dream Cream

It's not exactly a secret I have issues with the scent of many (most?) Lush products. Dream Cream isn't different in this regard and is probably one of the worst, scent-wise, but it performs so wonderfully I must talk about it.

Dream Cream is more of a lotion than a cream in the texture department, and absorbs quickly enough. It moisturizers with the best of them- just as good as my favorite L'Occitane shea butter cream, only much lighter. I didn't expect it to have a lingering effect, but it does and keeps skin calm and soft all day. It even helps tremendously with the horrible winter itch.

The scent, however, is horrible. It smells like a household detergent, and not an expensive one. I don't know which of the many essential oils in the ingredient list is responsible for the stench, but I can only describe this as a demented lavender. And it's strong enough that I have to wait at least 20-30 minutes before I can wear perfume. And even then, I'd recommend going with a green or herbal fragrance, preferably a masculine (Coriolan is a good choice here). I don't want to think about Dream Cream mixing with anything vanilla.

I've been using Dream Cream since last summer and lately have been finding myself reaching for it several times a week. I'll have to replenish soon, but the Lush website says it's out of stock at the moment. If you've seen the cream at your local Lush store please say so in a comment.

Lush Dream Cream ($22.55) should be available at Lush boutiques and normally it's online. Mine was a gift from my sister who shares my opinions about the high performance and stinkiness.

Skin Savers: Carol's Daughter Body Products

*** Winners of the Incense Extreme drawing, go back one post ***

And for today's fun:

My ongoing battle against the cuir de crocodile has been very successful this winter. Carol's Daughter body products have been a great asset in this war, and it looks like I have another holy grail cream: their Shea Soufflé. While they offer several other good options, the soufflé is perfect in a Goldilocks way: not too thick, not too thin, just rich enough to feel satisfying and nurturing.

The regular lotion would probably work for everyone who needs good moisturizing without coating the skin too much. Be careful if you also use the hair milk: the bottles look exactly the same and I ended up with lotion in my hair on a couple of dark mornings when I was primping half asleep, not remembering that the hair products are the ones on the left side of my dresser.

The body butter in the flat tin is amazingly rich, but quite greasy. It forms an excellent protective barrier that would work great for those who spend longer periods of time outside than my regular dash from door to car. You need to be careful if you apply it before dressing up, because it would get on your clothes. This is why I prefer to use it for a quiet night at home, before putting on thick PJs. The next morning my skin feels extra soft. Another word of warning: the butters are chock full of natural ingredients, including the color of whatever fruit they are made of. The Mango Mélange has stained my sheets with its orange color. It washed off easily, but you should not use it around your white satins.

The shea soufflé was the most perfect of the three products I tested. Rich, creamy but very absorbent, feels luxurious, pampers the skin and leaves it in a very happy condition for the whole day. With 47% of natural butters and oils, no mineral oil or petroleum (two ingredients that always end up making my skin feel dry), it's fast becoming my favorite skin saver.

Here's an interesting concept for those of us who are genetically linked to alligators: Showering with a moisturizer. There are several moisturizing gels and body washes on the market, but Crabtree & Evelyn are trying a new angle with their In-Shower Moisturizer. Basically, it's a moisturizing cream that is supposed to be suitable for showering.

It's a good idea, I'm just not sold out on the actual product. It doesn't spread as well as a shower product usually does and it's a bit too slippery under water. I didn't expect it to lather, but I wanted it to feel like it was getting me cleaned, considering the shower scenario.

As far as moisturizing goes, patting it on a wet/damp skin seems to be quite effective, but it's more of a moisture-sealing product than a nourishing one, and my skin requires a little more than that. However, if your skin is less demanding than mine, this might be a very good product (as long as the texture doesn't skeeves you out).

My other issue was scent. I tried the mango butter and cranberry and wasn't impressed with it. It didn't smell like either cranberry or mango, just something synthetic, medicinal and not too pleasant. Not very different than the Lemon & Sage line from Bliss. It's a very non-C&E scent, as they are usually on the girly floral side.

I'm not giving up on the Naturals line just yet. I'm curious about the body butters. They have a potential to be great if they managed to get the scent right, and the same goes for the shower mousse.

Anti-Gravity

Gravity is a serious business.

As much as I love beauty products, I'm quite aware of the fact that there's only so much a cream can do for you. That's why when it comes to keeping things firm, the only thing I trust is the elliptical machine. And the gene pool.

That's why I can't really say if Biotherm's Resculpt Lift body cream lives up to the anti-sagging promises. Everything is still firmly in place, and I plan to keep it that way for as long as I can. Of course, a little outside help can't hurt, and Body Resculpt is a very pleasant body cream.

It's not too rich or heavy, which makes it perfect for summer. It's still moisturizing enough, the watery-floral scent goes away within minutes, leaving the field for my perfume of choice and it feels nice. If by using it I'm also doing my collagen level a favor (I'm pretty sure that the Beauty Brains would have something to say), all the better.

Biotherm products are only available online, from the company's official site (shipping is free on orders over $50 if you become a member). There are several interesting lotions and potions there, and their men line is extraordinary. The Blond's review of those is in the works.