Alaffia EVCO Body Cream & Shea Butter Moisturizing Body Lotion

As you know I have been experimenting with making my own body lotions/creams. Now there are a number of reasons for doing this, but the main reason is the fact that I am personally fed up with all of the over priced "all natural" products currently on the shelve, which don't seem to be really deliver what they promise, and sometimes far from "natural". Unfortunately, I've been having some issues with my products. My latest batch was pretty good, but still came out a little too thick and takes some work to absorb. As a result, I have decided to tweak the recipe yet again to see if I can finally produce some magic.

Now your probably thinking, "I thought this was a product review", and you are right, I am just setting the background. So I was at the Big Carrot after making my second batch of cream and I came across this new line called "Alaffia" said to be a fair trade, all natural skin care product. As I was reading the ingredients I was quite impressed because it was in fact 100% natural smelled great, and then I got an idea: why not find a product I really like and try to replicate the recipe? Now I know this is far from easy, but I don't believe I will have too much trouble now that I know the basic ingredients that are used to make a good skin cream and more importantly, how these ingredients work together. so I decided to pick it up. Now these creams are not cheap at all (details provided below), so I wanted to make sure that the basic promises were met (soft, moisturized skin). I ended up trying them on my hands and I was instantly impressed. So far I have using both products for the last three days. I must say, it seems to be doing quite well:

Alaffia Virgin Coconut Oil Body Cream ($18.99 CDN for 118 ml)

Ingredients: Distilled Water, Virgin Coconut Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Vegetable Emulsifying Wax, Unrefined Coco Butter, Palm Stearic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Lemongrass Essential Oils, Fragrance

I must say this cream goes so nice, absorbs well and smells really nice. My skin feels really soft and moisturized. It is a tad greasy, so it is definitely a cream better suited for the colder months.  By definition creams are heavier, so the name itself should tell you something, but if you have really dry skin then this is a good bet.  For this reason it gets a . It would have gotten a higher score if it wasn't so outrageously priced.

Alaffia Shea Butter Moisturizing Body Lotion ($17.99 CDN for 235 ml)

Ingredients: Green Tea Extract, Raspberry Extract, Shea Butter, Vegetable Glycerin, Vegetable Emulsifying Wax, Unrefined Coco Butter, Palm Stearic Acid, Potassium Sorbate,  Limonene Oils, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C),

 I found this cream a little light for me. It comes out of the dispenser thick and creamy looking, but feels thin when I rubbed it on the skin. It absorbed well, and alleviated my dry skin. Did not leave a greasy feel at all. I didn't care for the smell though, but it wasn't horrible (smelled like raw shea butter). Overall, a good light lotion, but not worth the money (maybe I am just cheap ) I gave it a and a half.

These are both great products, but the price tag leaves a little something to be desired. As a result, I am heading back to the kitchen to see what I can rustle up using these products as my point of reference.